The Red Dragons
by GEStorm
Summary: Back then, I thought fighting monster inside a mirror and participating in a battle royal-style death match against other mirror dwellers to get one wish granted would be the craziest thing I've ever done. But now, after moving to this Kuoh Town, let's just say I am not sure about that anymore.
1. Prologue

**Hello Guys!**

 **This is my first time writing a fan fiction, and honestly, I'm nervous about how it's gonna turn out. Please give me some suggestion or critique if you have time.**

 **I'm also gonna say that English is not my first language, so I'm sorry if there is any grammar or spelling error. I will try my best to improve along the way, so please bear with me.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Ryuki or High school DxD.**

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Prologue

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" _Those who don't fight won't survive"_

These are the words that keep haunting me, ever since I heard it from that man. The man who had pulled me into that world; into that hell.

" _In the end, there will be only one rider"_

Endless fight, that keep happening for sole purpose, to achieve one's wish. Bloodbath that can't be stopped, leading to many deaths and losses. Many life being sacrificed, for one rider to stand above the others.

" _Then I'll be your proof! At the very least, I transform to defend people!"_

I had fought continuously, protecting people from 'those things' that came for their life. 'Those things' are monsters that hunted innocent people, dragged them into their world, and devoured them mercilessly.

" _Don't worry, Yui! I'll definitely help you find your brother, and end this meaningless fight altogether!"_

My promise to that girl was what made me keep fighting. Despite not having wish of my own, I fought in that harsh battle to keep my promise to her, along with defending human beings.

" _I have one wish that I have to fulfill. In order to do that, I will win this war, even if I have to kill every last one of you myself!"_

My rival, that at some point I already considered friend, declared it to me with face full of conviction and determination. Despite not wanting to do this, I still raised my weapon and met him in a duel.

" _Please stop this, Shinji-san, Ren-san! Why do both of you need to fight each other? Both of you are friend, right? There's no need to follow Nii-san's rule anymore! Just stop this fighting, please!"_

We both somehow heard her tearful pleas in midst of our sword clashes. But none of us willing to stop. We already knew there's no turning back at that point. One must stand and the other fall, such was the rule of this war.

" _Your determination is weak, Kido. That dull blade of yours will never reach me. Now get out of my sight! Bring that kid with you and disappear! If I ever see you again, I will definitely kill you that time!"_

He said that with his blade pointed at my neck. I was on my knees, lost and gravely injured. He destroyed my source of power; my partner. With that, I was forced to resign from this war, and flee away from Tokyo.

" _Don't worry, Yui. We will be save in this new place. We can finally forget those horrible experiences. I already promised to protect you, after all."_

I said to her with every courage I could muster. It wouldn't be easy to just forget about those nightmare, of course. But I wanted to believe that we finally can live our life peacefully, without constant worrying of monster attack, or some rider (or any other psychopath being) just decide to drop by and try to kill me before lunch time.

But obviously, our luck ran out the moment I decided our destination; a small town far west of Tokyo, named Kuoh Town.

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 **And... that's it for the prologue.**

 **A little too short, I know. But I promise the next chapter will be much longer than this**

 **Alright, I'm GEStorm signing off for now!**

 **Next chapter: My New Life**


	2. Chapter 1: My New Life

**Hello Guys!**

 **Here I am, finally posting chapter 1!**

 **I want to give my thanks to my readers who have read, commented, and even favorited my story. Thanks guys, I'm nothing without all of you!**

 **Also some special thanks to bloodyredrose 1994 and Dragon Bone Z for the PM you had sent me. Thank you for your support guys! I hope my story will keep impressing you!**

 ***Important Stuff Starting from Here***

 **Alright, here i want to answer some questions and make everything clear about my story!**

 **1\. The Ryuki world in this story is** **COMPLETELY ALTERNATE** **to the real KR Ryuki world. I will still keep the important bits, but overall I will not use the original timeline of the show. I also have to tell you that I will add, cut, and change some things about the relationship of each of these characters, how the mirror world works, how the Rider War started, and even how some of the Advent Cards work. Heck, maybe I will add some new cards to some Rider's Advent Deck (complete with its AP, GP, and Effect), if I see necessary.**

 **2\. The characters from KR Ryuki side are** **ALL OC.** **Please hear me out on this one. See, I've made some stupid mistake about naming my characters in the prologue (I'm so sorry about that). Instead of using my original name, I use the same name as their counterpart in KR Ryuki world. Fortunately, there are only three names I'd introduced in there, and some of them are only introduced with their last name, so I made a little fixing with changing their first name. UNFORTUNATELY, my very MC had his both first name and last name spoken there, so I was stuck thinking about that for a couple of days before finally decide to stick with it**.

 **3\. In this timeline, the Rider War is still going on in Tokyo, none of the rider has died yet, and Shinji didn't lose his deck in his fight with Ren. I will explain about this thing in the later chapter, so please bear with it for now.**

 **4\. And finally, in this story,** **MY MC WILL NOT BE REVIVED AS A DEVIL!** **Yeah, you heard that right, folks! My MC WILL NOT become a devil. Heck, these Riders already got enough problems with protecting humanity from the monsters and fighting each other to the death. They definitely don't need that drama of 'Three Faction War' to make their story interesting.**

 **And... that's about it, guys! I hope you'll enjoy the story. Again, I'm sorry if there's any grammar or spelling error.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Ryuki or High school DxD.**

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Chapter 1: My New Life

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TRANGG...TRANGG...TRUANGG

Blade Clashes... shield parries... on and on for a long time

Two figures are fighting on one of the tall buildings, with sun setting on the background. The red one, holding curved red sword in his right hand and shield that shaped like Japanese dragon's underside in his left, is blocking and parrying his opponent's lance, that's being constantly thrusted onto his body.

The dark blue figure, the one holding the lance, seems gaining upper hand in this duel. With his superior speed and agility, he keeps forcing the red figure into defensive stance, unable to launch even a single attack.

" _Shinji-nii..."_

Meanwhile, one figure is standing on the sideline, watching the fight with teary eyes. It seems to be a girl. She looks like she is crying while desperately shouting, trying to call those two figures that are fighting in front of her right now.

" _Oyy~ please wake up, Shinji-nii..."_

TRANGG... SHRINNGGG... JLEEBB... BRUAKK...

During their fight, the dark blue figure manages to create a gap in the red figure's defense, and quickly thrusting his lance through it and manage to completely stab the red figure's right shoulder. The pain makes him drop his sword and clutches his wounded shoulder instinctively. The dark blue figure does not waste any time and immediately kick the red figure in the chest, making him fall on his back.

" _... I will hit you with this dictionary if you don't wake up on the third count, Shinji-nii."_

The dark blue figure immediately puts his right foot on the red's chest, and points his lance onto him.

" _One..."_

The girl that has been watching from sideline also starts running toward them, while continuously shouting something incoherent.

" _Two..."_

The dark blue figure raises his lance, seems ready to deliver the final blow.

" _Haaa... Three."_

And just like that, he brings down his lance to the red figure's face.

 _BRUUAAKKKK..._

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"GUHOHH... ARGHHH..."

I was pretty sure that would be anybody reaction when they were awoken by heavy dictionary slammed onto their stomach. And let me tell you something based on personal experience; it wasn't nice.

"Good morning, Shinji-nii. Rise and Shine!"

That cute and cheerful voice rang from beside my bed. I turned my head to look at my sister (/assailant) that was trying to open my window's curtain.

Her name is Shinozaki Yui, 15 years old. She has big brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. As usual, her flower-shaped hairpin is attached on her hair. Her always cheerful and sometimes over the top demeanor always makes her very likeable pretty much everywhere she goes.

The one trait that easily diminish her from the other girls of her age is her height though. Being only 140 cm, she is definitely the shortest high school girl I've ever met, thus make me grant her a nickname 'loli' (but don't tell her I say this, she doesn't take that nickname all too well).

Combining both her happy go lucky attitude and her small stature, she can easily pass as a cute mascot anywhere. But today, her attire was what get my attention the most.

She is wearing a uniform that consists of a white long-sleeved, button-down shirt with vertical linings, a black ribbon on the collar, a black shoulder cape and matching button-down corset, and a magenta skirt with white accents. Totally match her; I thought, but that's not the main point here.

"Heyyy~ are you awake yet, Shinji-nii?" said Yui while looking straight to my face and shaking my shoulder gently. "You remember we have our first day of school today, right? I don't want to be late for it," she said pleadingly, which effectively snapped me out of my daydream.

"Before that, don't you have anything to say to me first, dear sister?" I said half-jokingly. "Specifically, about **slamming my abdomen with super thick and heavy dictionary as a way of waking me up** ," I ranted like child throwing a tantrum.

My sister just pouted and immediately turned her face away, "Hummphh... that's your own fault for not waking up quickly," she said hastily. She then turned to me again and pointed at me with her finger, "In fact, this will be my method of waking you up hereafter. If you still insist on being a lazy head, I will make your stomach get even more bruises."

God, my sister really knows how to say such a scary stuff with a cute and totally harmless voice.

Finally, I raised both of my hands. "Alright, alright, you win, sis. I'll try my best not to overslept tomorrow. I still need these intestines, after all," I said jokingly while rubbing my stomach. Hearing that, her pout disappeared, and she smiled brightly. "Good, that's my brother, alright!" She said while giving me two thumbs up.

"Now quick, wash your face and change your clothes! We have a new big day waiting for us," she said energetically while pulling me out from my bed. I lazily got up, stretched my body for a while, and let out a big yawn.

"I will wait downstairs, Shinji-nii! Breakfast is ready!" Yui said that before getting out and left me alone in my room. It allowed me to finally take a breather and calm my nerves, which made me realize that I was shaking all along.

"That dream again... this is the third time this week." I said weakly while trying to stop my arm from shaking. I clutched my right shoulder, where my scar was suddenly throbbing in pain. That memory... our last battle... it's still haunting me, as expected. Even if that event was already a month ago, I still couldn't shake that vivid image off my mind.

"I lost, huh..." I sighed and sat back on the bed. I wasn't particularly sad or disappointed because I can't participate in 'that war' anymore, mind you. It's just... losing to him left a bad taste in my mouth. Moreover, the fact that I knew the real reason why he was doing that drove me even more irritated.

Eventually, I slapped both side of my cheeks with my hands. "Stupid Shinji... this is your new life... new opportunity to start anew. Stop. Thinking. About. That. Already," I slapped myself for every word in that last sentence.

"Right, this will be my life routine from now on, better start adapting from now on," I convinced myself. As I said that, I quickly washed my face, and changed into my own set of uniform.

"Hmm... not too bad, Shinji. At least you look decent in this uniform," I praised myself as I was proudly looking at a mirror. To be honest, until a week ago, I was still kinda afraid and wary to look directly into a mirror (and considering my previously messed up life, I guess it's kinda justified, in a way or another), but after convincing myself to forget the past and live for the future, I felt it's kind of wrong to still hold fear over something like that.

So, for this week I had constantly challenged myself to look directly into a mirror, to prove that my fear was stupid. Now, I was pretty sure I was already cured of my mirror-phobia, and was able to stare at it just fine.

My face, as it appeared on the mirror, was not as shabby as I could remember. Black eyes and slightly pointed nose, along with my short, rather unkempt black hair are the same as always, but I could see that my expression has become more and more... relaxed, lately.

I guess considering that some heavy burdens had just been taken off my back, it was natural that my expression had changed from my usual 'just revived undead' kind, to more of 'normal lazy teenager' kind.

My height is 172 cm, which I think is average height for second year high school student. Also, while it may cannot be seen under the uniform, as I'm quite slim, I'm pretty confident about my muscle, too. After all, I spent months or so running around hunting monsters and fighting the others, so obviously I had to be fit both physically and mentally to keep up with that.

My uniform itself consists of a black blazer with white accents over a white, long-sleeved button-down shirt with vertical linings, a black ribbon on the collar, and a matching black pants.

 **"Shinji-nii! Why are you taking so long? Come on, come eat your breakfast already so we can come to the school earlier!"** I heard my sister's shouting voice while I was busy fixing my collar. I managed to shout back, **"coming, sis!"** and was about to dash out of the room when I noticed something on my desk.

A rectangular, pure black object was sitting there. Actually, there was supposed to be a golden emblem engraved on the surface, but now it didn't have that anymore. While it didn't look that special on the outside, that thing had completely changed my life about a year ago.

I got a chance to be something _more,_ and gained enough power to protect my friends and family. But as a great man once said, _'With great power comes great responsibility'_ , that power also brought me suffering and lost. Until that fateful day, when this gift / curse of mine was taken away from me.

I shook my head again, then took that rectangular object and shoved it into my pocket. While I was already determined to forget that experience, I guess just bringing it wouldn't be a problem. After all, back then I always kept this thing close to me, even closer than even my wallet and my phone. Just suddenly had to neglect it still felt somewhat weird.

Now, preparation complete! I took my school bag and dashed downstairs to meet my sister, who was ready at the dining table.

"Finally! I'm tired of waiting for you, Shinji-nii. Next time, I will not wait for you anymore, okay!" Yui said with very adorable pouting face. I chuckled slightly at that. My sister really knew how to make cute angry expression. Probably because she is so small, I could never take her seriously whenever she pouted like that (again, don't tell her I said this).

"Yeah, yeah, sorry about this, sis" I said while raising both of my hand. "You don't have to worry though, we are not even close to being late yet," I sat on the chair and took my toast. "I mean... look," I pointed to the wall clock behind me with a butter knife, which showed us that it was only 6.40 A.M., while our class starts at 8.00 A.M.

"...Well, because this is our first day in the new school in this new town, I suppose there's nothing wrong with starting earlier, right?" She said with small, almost unrecognizable voice. "It's our first school after so long, after all."

I was still able to hear her clearly, though.

" _She must be really waiting for this day,"_ I thought. Well, we certainly couldn't enjoy our school life (or any other normal life, for that matter) back then in Tokyo, so I guess it's kinda justified if she wanted to experience her school life sooner. Moreover, seeing my usually cheerful and energetic little sister hung her head dejectedly like this didn't feel right for me.

I reached out and stroked her hair. I could feel her head tensed slightly, but she didn't refuse it, so I continued for several seconds. After I released her head, she still looked downward, but I could feel her smile gradually coming back to her face. This made me breath sigh of relieve too, and soon we were back to eating our breakfast in silence.

"Hey, Shinji-nii..." Yui called me while I was busy chewing the toast. She then rose up from her chair and did a little twirl. "...What do you think about my uniform?" She asked with shy and curious tone, her face was kinda red too.

This sudden question kinda caught me off guard, but fortunately I just had to tell her exactly what's inside my mind.

"It's suit you nicely, Yui. You look good in that," I said while slightly smiling. I immediately knew that was a satisfactory answer, since Yui blushed even more intense shade of red; then immediately smiled brightly right after.

"Ehehe... Thank you. You also look cool in that, Shinji-nii!" Yui praised me with her trademark 'two thumbs up'. Our light and heart warming conversation then kept going until we both finished our breakfast.

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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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Our home is 2-story small apartment with 2 bedrooms, small kitchen and dining room that's merged with the family room. I personally chose this place because, first, the price was... reasonable, and second, it is close to our new school. It would take us approximately 8 – 10 minutes to go there on foot, so I could proudly say that I got a good bargain.

The sky was clear when we decided to leave for school. My phone showed me that it was only 7.00 A.M. We got so much time, so we walked slowly, trying to enjoy our stroll as long as possible. Along the way, my sister was walking two steps ahead of me, humming something cheerfully, and occasionally hopped and twirled around like a small rabbit.

"Careful, sis!" I warned her as I grabbed her shoulder lightly when we came across a junction with a traffic light. "I know you're excited and all, but let's not do anything that can make you be hospitalized on your first day of school, yeah?" I said with a small smile on my face.

Aaannd...that is her cute pout. "Hummphhh... I know what I'm doing, Shinji-nii. You always treat me like I'm a kid," she said while pouting. I chuckled, "I know that, but sometimes, if not often..." I held her wrist gently "...you act exactly like a child that make me have to do THIS to make sure you are safe" I said while pointing at her hand that I held.

"Whaa... whaa... uuuu..." she immediately blushed and turned her face downward, while mumbling something incoherently. She didn't pull back her arm though, so I took that as a sign that she's okay with me doing this. Like that, we walked for a few minutes before finally I could see our new school.

Kuoh Academy, the most prestigious school in this town. The main building of this school is so big that I could see it from miles away. To be honest, this school is one of my reasons for choosing this town. It is famous for being one of the best private schools in the country.

Moreover, the one thing that got me interested was the "Escalator" system that this school uses. This system will make it easier for us to go into college. As long as we can maintain our average grade in high school, there's no need to take any traditional college entrance exam.

Granted, applying into this school wasn't easy. Yui and I had to take a super difficult entrance written exam (opinion may vary), got interviewed by some senior teachers and the guidance counselor, and endured some complicated physical and mental examination. (I had a hard time convincing the examiner that the nasty scar on my shoulder, along with some others on many parts of my body, were results of a past accident, not from street fighting)

But after waiting for the result for a few days, we received a letter that said we both passed the entrance exam, and might attend the classes starting today. Really, I was so glad I passed, because truth to be told, I wasn't confident about my written test's score.

"Woahhh... look at that, nii! Look at that!" Yui jumped up and down energetically like a kangoroo on steroid, all while pointing and staring at the school building with sparkling eyes. Seriously, if I wasn't holding her arm, I was pretty sure she's immediately gonna dash toward the school and left me alone here, with my mouth agape.

" **I wonder how's the inside of that building!? Will we really study there from now on!? I hope my classmate will be nice to me! Oh, I wonder what club should I join into! Maybe cooking club, or basketball club, uhh... but I'd like to try handicraft club as well! What should I dooo? Neee...Shinji-nii, what should I...** ummpphhh~"

"Alright... easy...easy there, sis" I grabbed her hand more sternly and put my hand on her mouth, thus preventing her from spouting another session of non-stop ranting. She immediately stared at me with eyes of protest. Goshh... while this over-energetic demeanor is one of her cute traits, I had to be honest that dealing with it every time we came to a new place or environment has gotten pretty annoying.

Fortunately, I'm a man with a high level of patience and tolerance.

"Look, sis... I really hate to keep reminding you of this, but do you remember what happened the last time you started babbling around like this?" I stared back at her. Probably started to understand what I was talking about, her eyes soften a little. Now I wouldn't tell you what happened here, folks. Explaining that would require me to make another full chapter on its own. So, let's move on.

I then removed my hand from her mouth and rubbed her hair with it. "Now, if you've calmed down a little bit, how about we continue walking? I guess we already got enough attention for this morning, right?" I said while showing her our surrounding. Sure enough, many people were staring at us (or at her, specifically) and some even snickering at our 'antics'.

Fortunately, I didn't see anyone wearing our school uniform among all these people. The last thing I wanted was our name became suddenly famous among the students as 'comedic sibling', even before we actually enrolled yet.

It took us no more than a few more minutes to finally arrived at the school's gate. And woohh boy, did this place look even more awesome up close. The biggest building (I assumed it would be where the classrooms were at) stood tall in front of us. I couldn't help but staring with awe for a few seconds there, and considering my sister didn't go into her hyperactive mode while I was busy daydreaming, I guess she couldn't help but being fascinated as well.

"Oyy... nii, are you okay? What are you staring at with dumfounded expression like that?" Small tug at my sleeve snapped me off my daze, and I turned to face my sister, who was grinning like hell at me.

"I guess even you would get bewildered at something like this, eh, Shinji-nii? Hihihi... your expression looked really weird. If you keep making that dumb expression, you may not be able to make any friend, you know," she said with playful tone.

Goshh... being called weird by my hyperactive little sister certainly didn't feel right.

"Oh, shut up, sis" I said as I poked her forehead with my fingers. "Don't make me start with your even weirder antics. And truthfully, I have a lot of that up my sleeve. Do you remember when you..." I bragged proudly, started to recite every 'unique' deed she had ever done. She then countered me by reciting every last one of my 'funny expression' that she remembered (Heck, she even took some picture out of it).

After some more series of joking and teasing each other, we started laughing and giggling together like crazy. Ahhh... what a peaceful day it is. I honestly wouldn't mind if this became our routine from now on. I just had to make sure we'd always come to school earlier so...

"May I ask what are you two laughing at here, in front of the school gate?"

... nobody would see...or hear...us.

...

"I will ask again, what are you two doing in front of the school ground?

...

... Yep, we're screwed.

I slowly turned my head to meet the person who had witnessed our comedy gag routine, while my mind was working on a plan about how to silence him/her.

... and I got, at least, 2 bad news immediately.

First bad news: The person was a girl. Why it was bad news, you ask? Well, because based on my personal experience (living with my sister, and all), I knew girls were a creature that love gossip. And that means, if they decided to share some gossips between themselves, chances are high that any matter they were gossiping about would be known throughout the entire school within less than 48 hours.

Second bad news: She is not alone. There was another girl behind her, and both of them were looking at me with the same condescending and accusing glare.

 _"Darn it all,"_ I cursed under my breath. Silencing one would already be hard enough, now I had to silence 2 of them?

I thought my answer really hard while steadying my breath, then answered with the most courage I could muster.

"Uu...umm... w-w-we...we were, umm... I... I mean... umm... it's actually... umm..."

... not the smoothest answer, I know. But hey, on my defense, I was panicked.

While I was stuttering incoherently, I could feel these 2 girls' gaze grew even colder and harsher. I guess it's almost the time when they deemed me as asylum's escapee and called the cops to arrest me.

...but of course, before my sister decided to give me a hand in the most horrible way imaginable.

"Ohh... you see, we were just laughing at this," she said while showing these 2 girls her phone, which still displaying a picture of me, sleeping sideways with the most hilarious (/ridiculous) smile I had ever made, completed with my exposed belly button and drool on the side of my mouth.

... Yep, there goes my reputation. Even before I was actually enrolled, mind you.

...

... Oh right, please remind me to strangle this evil loli sister of mine later.

After staring at the picture for a couple of seconds, the first girl (the shorter one with short bob-styled black hair and glasses) turned her face toward mine, while having this complicated expression; like she wasn't sure whether to laugh, apologize, or feel outright disgusted by that photo (possibly all three at the same time).

The second girl though (the long, black haired one, also with glasses), was trying her best to suppress her laughter. She turned her face away from us, her body bent forward as she put her hand on her mouth, but ultimately failed to hold her laughter in, resulting in one scary giggle that you'd normally hear in a horror movie.

"Ehemm... Tsubaki, behave," the shorter girl gave an order to the long-haired girl, along with a stern glare. After a while, her laughter finally subsided, and she immediately correct her standing posture, and fixed her expression back to poker face, though I could feel that she's still looking at me funnily.

"I... Well, I guess that was... interesting(?)" The shorter girl was trying her best to give a comment, even though it's so obvious that she wasn't really sure what to say about that picture (at this point, I wasn't sure whether to thank her for not laughing at my embarrassing photo, or to feel downright offended because she didn't even smile at my funny photo)

"I guess I have to apologize for suspecting both of you as suspicious people earlier," she and her friend bowed their head to me and my sister. "It's just... I've never seen both of you before," she was looking at both of us back and forth. "Is it possible that... you two are..."

"Oh yeah, we haven't introduced ourselves..." I said something quickly, to change the mood that had become too formal there. "I'm Kido Shinji, and this is Shinozaki Yui..." I said as I bowed my head, and made sure that Yui also did the same. "...We are transfer student from Tokyo. We are supposed to enroll here starting from today. Please treat us well."

The shorter girl stared at us for a few seconds, before saying "Hmm... alright, then you two may as well come with us now. We can give you a little tour around the school after you're done with the enrollment paperwork," she said as she walked past me and through the school gate.

That offer surprised me a little, honestly. You might call me shallow for judging a book by its cover, or in this case, a girl by her expression and overall body posture. Her stern expression and overall no-nonsense attitude gave me impression that she was not a type of kind-hearted person who would just easily help others unless it's really her responsibility to do so.

 _"I really should stop judging people from their outer appearance,"_ I scolded myself in my heart.

"Umm... I really appreciate your concern and all, but I don't really think you should waste your time for us, though," I said to her as we all walked behind her. "After all, we don't really know how long this paperwork will be, and I'm sure this school has already arranged someone to give us a tour around academy. So... yeah, we'd like to thank you and your friend here for your kindness, but I think we can handle ourselves from here on," I said with certainty.

The shorter girl that had been walking in front of us stopped after hearing my words. She then turned back to face me, gazing at intently me with that violet eyes. I averted my eyes, probably blushing, and before long she said, "Do you know your way to the faculty office, Kido-san?" she asked me with a flat tone.

I considered my answer, before finally shook my head. She curled her lips upward a little, forming a very thin smile, before saying, "well, I guess it's partially our fault for not introducing ourselves sooner."

Before I had an opportunity to ask what she was talking about, she adjusted her glasses and started talking, "Greetings Kido Shinji-san, Shinozaki Yui-san. My name is Shitori Sona, 3rd year high school student, also the president of the student council in Kuoh Academy. And she is Shinra Tsubaki, my vice president of the student council, also 3rd year high school student."

At that point, I was pretty sure my expression must be really funny, because she... I mean Shitori-senpai was literally smirking in amusement.

"Now, if you have any other question, feel free to ask about them in the student council room. You two have many paper to fill and you certainly don't want you to miss your academy tour just because you can't finish them in time, right?" She asked that rhetorical question before turned around and continued walking toward the school building, leaving me and Yui dumbfounded.

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"Gosh darn... my hand," I croaked while massaging my right hand, after finally finished with that mountains of paperwork. Yui had done filling with her forms sooner than I had, and now was happily enjoying her tea, courtesy of Shinra-senpai.

"Are you done, Kido-san?" Shitori-senpai who was sitting behind her desk asked me. She was checking Yui's papers, and soon would checked mine too. "If you're done, please wait for me to do quick checking for all of these. After I'm done, we'll arrange the academy tour," she said with her eyes still glued to the paper. I guess she really is a serious type, huh.

I sipped my tea while looking at my surrounding. This student council room is quite large, with many fancy decorations spread across the room, bookshelves lined along the wall, and some working desks neatly organized on one side of the room. We ourselves were sitting on the sofa in one corner of the room.

"If I may ask, where's the other member, senpai? Isn't a student council supposed to have more members, like secretary, treasurer and stuff?" I opened my mouth to start a conversation with Shinra-senpai, who conveniently was standing near us all along.

"We do have more members, it's just they're not usually standing by here in the morning unless we have some urgent matters to discuss. So, it's usually only me and Kaichou who are here in the morning," Shinra-senpai explained to me. "Plus, it's actually still quite too early for anyone to arrive at school, so I assume our members are not even in school yet," she added.

I peered at my phone, and sure, it was still 7.15 A.M. I guess the only few students who would want the come to school this early were they who had club activities, or were just really bored at home (it's neither of those reason in our case, though)

Silence washed over us once again. I guess both Shitori-senpai and Shinra-senpai were not really a type of person who could entertain their guests. I was just thinking of breaking the ice, when my little sister decided to do that for me in her own unique style.

"Nee...nee... Shinji-nii, look what I drew," she suddenly tugged my sleeve and showed me her drawing; a very neat and clear portrait of Shitori-senpai checking the forms, that she somehow managed to finish under 5 minutes using nothing but a pencil.

Haisshhh... as much as I thought she's annoying and noisy, I couldn't deny that she got a real talent in art, especially in drawing portrait.

I smiled at her and rubbed her hair, "It's pretty, as always. You should show it to her later," I commented.

"Hehehe... thank you, nii. You're the best," after she said that and smiled brightly at me, she stood up and brought her portrait to Shinra-senpai, asking her opinion. I could see Shinra-senpai expression changed a little, becoming more surprised and amazed at the same time. Yui's drawing skill often left impression on people, that's for sure.

Almost at the same time, Shitori-senpai stood up from her chair, "I'm done with the checking. Now if you two are ready... what is that, Shinozaki-san?" Senpai asked after she caught a glimpse of Yui's masterpiece. Yui brought her drawing and showed it to her. After staring at it for a few seconds, senpai adjusted her glasses and smiled a little, "This is... beautiful, Shinozaki-san. Thank you," she said, her voice sounded relaxed.

"Ehehe... you can keep it, senpai! After all, I can draw something that catchy only because I got a beautiful model, so consider that my gift of friendship please," she said that one hell of a pick-up line while grinning and making a V-sign toward senpai.

Senpai seemed to consider something, before finally said, "Alright Shinozaki-san, I accept this gift of yours," she said, putting the drawing on her desk, "but for now, I believe we have more important thing to do, no?" She said to both of us, while adjusting her glasses. I started to think this 'adjusting the glasses' thing was her trademark. After all, it suited her cool and serious demeanor very nicely.

I nodded and Yui hopped around in joy shouting "Yayy~ Yaayyy~~" until I grabbed her shoulder to restrain her. Afterward, we were brought for academy tour; when unfortunately, I got my first friend that'd later prove to be my first problem, sneaking around behind the dojo.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

I thought this school was big when we first saw it from the front gate. But after this tour, I could see that this school is actually HUGE. Because this school houses an escalator system, it has all grades from 1st-University separated by Elementary, Junior High, Senior High, and College divisions.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration either to say that this school has EVERYTHING. Football field, baseball field, tennis court, training ground, pool, and heck, even dojo. I guess it didn't get famous as 'the most prestigious school in the country' for nothing, after all.

Shinra-senpai was the only one who gave us the tour, though. Shitori-senpai said she was busy with something else, so she apologized and told Shinra-senpai to take us around the academy, and made sure we attended our respective classes on time.

"...and that conclude our academy tour. Is there any question?" Senpai said, concluding our tour around the school. "Now, if there's none, I will lead both of you to meet your respective homeroom teachers, and then they will be the one to take you to your classroom," she said as she turned and walked back to the school building.

"Umm... actually senpai, you haven't take us to see that building yet," I said while pointing at one seemingly deserted building, which was isolated in the middle of the woods. That mysterious building caught my attention because the structure of that building seemed very similar to our school building's, only smaller in size.

Shinra-senpai turned to face me, her expression suddenly darkened. After considering her answer, she said with a very low and (somehow) threatening voice. "I... suggest that you don't go near that building at all, Kido-san," her voice was so scary and carried so much authority that I couldn't even ask 'why'. The only thing I could muster was a simple "okay" without any more question whatsoever.

"Th-then, may I at least, umm... take a closer look at the dojo over there?" I said, pointing at the dojo located not so far beside us. Senpai pondered for a few minutes, then sighed, "Just for a few minutes, Kido-san. We can't have you late to class on your first day," she said while huffing, then continued, "I and your sister will wait for you at the teacher's room, then."

She walked to the school building, and Yui followed her before shouted "bye~~ Shinji-nii~, don't be late, okay!" while waving at me from afar.

I sighed and looked at the dojo once again. I could see some students were already coming in and out of the dojo, maybe for their morning practice. To be honest, I wasn't really interested in whatever they're doing at the dojo. I'd never been in any martial arts club before, but that didn't mean I'd never gone into a dojo, though. After all, back then I often trained with...

I lost in my thought, remembering the time when i often had a spar with my rival. Back then,we often met at a dojo to have a mock battle, honing our skill together to survive in...

...No, bad, bad Shinji! No more unnecessary flashback! Stop remembering about that time already.

I scolded myself and clicked my tongue. Goshh... I couldn't believe I risked getting on senpai's bad side just because I want to recall a nostalgic past, that WASN'T EVEN a good past, mind you. I glanced at the dojo once again, determined to forget that event. I just intended to walk away from the dojo, when I saw something weird in the corner of my eyes.

The bushes that lead to the back of the dojo swayed, as if something was moving along behind them. And somehow, I had a feeling that it wasn't an animal.

Out of curiosity, I followed that 'thing' silently (wouldn't want anybody to caught me sneaking around, right?) through the bushes, and finally saw what (or rather, who) it was after he stopped right under the dojo's back window.

One student with short spiky brown hair and wearing the same uniform as I wore, albeit his dress shirt and blazer were fully unbuttoned and showing red T-shirt underneath, was kneeling and rummaging through the wall; maybe searching for something. I kinda observed him for a few moments to see what he's on about, before finally addressed him.

"Hey, dude. What are you doing?" I asked politely.

"WOAHH..." answered by an impolite screaming by the guy in question.

 _"Hey, does anyone hear that?"_

 _"There's someone screaming."_

 _"I think that came from the back."_

 _"I swear if it's those perverts again..."_

 _"Let's check it out!"_

That's what I heard the next moment. Many girls voice that came from inside the dojo.

"Ahhh, crap..." the boy suddenly put his hand on my mouth and dragged me deeper into the bushes. I tried to struggle at first, but after seeing girls came around bringing _shinai_ (wooden swords), wearing malice expression, and all while having this sort of familiar (for me, anyway) killing intent emitted into the air, I immediately followed him and cowered even deeper into the bushes.

Those girls looked for us, beating around the bushes. They'd soon find us if we didn't do something fast enough. Crap, maybe if I could make a distraction...

"MEOOWWW..."

...

... I was stunned. Those girls were also stunned. After swallowing audibly, I groggily turned my face in horror to meet the source of that voice.

My partner in crime was there, grinning like an idiot that he is. I wasn't sure whether it's because he seriously believed he had saved us, or it's just an ironic smile because he knew soon we were gonna be judged harshly by a bunch of angry girls with wooden swords.

 _"Ehh... that was just a cat~?"_

 _"Huh, we just wasted our time."_

 _"That cat sure sounded cute, though."_

 _"Let's go back inside. Buchou will be mad if she finds us out here for no reason."_

...

... Holy hell, did that really just happen?

Seconds passed, then minutes. After we're sure those girls weren't looking for us anymore, we slipped past them and booked it outta there. After that, we found ourselves sitting on the lawn beside the training ground, gasping for breath.

 **"Woohhh... Hell yeahh! We escaped, mannn! How's my plan, huh? Pretty sweet, right! I should've done that more often! HAHAHAHA..."** The brunette boy recovered very fast, as now he was doing victory celebration and laughing like a madman. I honestly didn't know what to do about him, nor I had any energy left to retort him, so I settled by a simple, "Whatever, dude," while still sitting tiredly on the lawn.

"Hey, hey, are you a new transfer student? I've never seen your face around here," he addressed me suddenly, which made me answered with a simple "yeah..." before sitting up straight.

"Name's Kido Shinji, 2nd year of high school. And if I may ask, what the heck were you doing back there?" I offered him my hand.

He shook it while saying, "I'm Hyoudou Issei, 2nd year of high school too, just call me Issei, though. As what I was doing there, ehehe..." He suddenly smiled so lecherously, which made me let go of his hand pretty fast.

"You could say I was making preparation this afternoon event. In fact, you can join if you want to," he said confidently with a wide smile, which made me wonder whether he'd forgotten that we were almost got killed on that place, or he was just a masochist that secretly wanted to be beaten by those girls.

"You know what, Issei? After what happened this morning, I think I'm not gonna be anywhere near that dojo for a few days forward. In fact, I was about to suggest you to do the same," I explained, and added, "but out of curiosity, what you were planning there, was it..."

He then grinned so wide that I was afraid his mouth might get ripped-off. "Of Course! Today, I'm gonna get a glance of the view of heaven, take a sip of Shangri-La in this world, visit a promised land and finally taste its forbidden fruit. YES, TODAY I WILL...ummppghh!"

"Alright, enough dude! I think I, AND THEM has heard enough of your plan, so please stop shouting before someone decided to call police to arrest you here and now," I said eagerly while covering his mouth before someone record that and use it to put him into a jail. Oh, and by someone, I mean EVERY LAST ONE of girls around that has been looking at us with disgusted and offended gaze.

... Once again, my reputation got easily destroyed.

Finally, I removed my hand from his mouth. He quickly inhaled some air, then enthusiastically said, "C'mon man, you don't have to be so shy. It's not every day occasion that I was able to find that peephole. You should feel lucky that I even invited you. Besides, I'm sure that's one of your reasons for transferring here," he said with such a passionate expression, like a kid that just got his first Playstation.

At this point, I made a silent vow in my heart to never let this guy meet Yui. Aside from his downright perverted nature that would get me to slap him the moment he stared at my sister lecherously, I genuinely thought this guy would get along nicely with her; and that exactly was the scary part. Having one Yui in my life was already tiring enough. Adding one more of her teaming up against me, I'd be damned for life.

... Speaking of Yui, why did I feel like I was forgetting something?

"What're you talking about? What reason do you think I have?" Instead, I addressed his statement about my reasoning. He then spread his arm, "well... of course it's to be surrounded by many beautiful girls and having your own harem, right?" and said that with confidence.

...

...

...

I wouldn't even lie, I was flabbergasted even more than usual. My mouth were probably hanging open right now. There were so many things I wanted to retort about his statement, but because my mind was still in a state of heavily shocked, I could only manage to say, "you're kidding, right?" which summarized pretty much everything in my mind.

"Why would I be? This school's full of very beautiful girls, and according to the students' gender ratio, each one of boys can have 4 girls for himself. How awesome is that, huh?" He said proudly while puffing his chest. "Just wait and see, Kido. Soon, I will become a harem king and conquer every last one of girls in this school! MUAHAHA..." and started laughing hysterically again.

Even though I tried my very best to ignore his nonsense, one statement actually caught my attention. He said '4 girls for every 1 boy'. Does this mean the ratio of girls and boys here were really that askew? Moreover, when I thought about it, the number of girls I'd seen walked past us for several minutes being in here were certainly much bigger than the boys.

Heck, I guess even the fact that the president and vice president of student council were both girls should have had already conveyed more than enough about the power hierarchy in this school.

Not that it's really a matter to me, mind you. I didn't really care even if the power balance really favored girl. After all, I wasn't planning in joining any club, let alone student council. As long as I could keep living in peace like this, anything's fine by me.

But if I could find something to be grateful with, I guess it would be because now Yui would has more female friends she could talk to.

... Why did I keep feeling like I was forgetting something? This time it's something about the president and/or vice president of the student council.

"I... honestly didn't know about that," I answered after pondering for a while. "Woahh... really?" Issei sounded genuinely surprised, and for some reason that got me irritated. "Well... you see, this school was formerly a girl's school, and just changed into a co-ed school a couple of years ago. So, it's given that there are still more girls than boys," he explained.

" _Huh... weird. I must've missed that piece of information from the article,"_ I pondered, while slowly recalling the moment when I read the article about this school from the internet.

"Anyway, I'm sorry Issei but I'm not gonna participate in your little 'event'," I made air quote with my fingers. "I wouldn't try to stop you, though. Just try not to get caught, k?" I stood up and looked at him.

His expression turned upset for a second, but a second later it was bright again. "Hmm... alright then," this time, he offered his hand, "but how about we hang out sometimes eh, Kido?" he sounded kinda wishful.

I actually pondered about that for a second. If that made me seem like a jerk who was picky at choosing friend, maybe it's because I was. I'd learn hard way that choosing a good friend could easily boost your chance in everything, and even saved your life. On the contrary, wrong friends could get you dragged into many kind of messes and even got you killed.

Issei seemed like a good guy, even with his questionable hobby. I only considered whether his 'antics' would someday get me into trouble. But I guess it's kinda unfair for me to judge him badly because of something trivial like that. I mean, we gotta admit every male got an interest in that area. I guess his interest was just slightly bigger than most of us.

Finally, I took his hand and shook it, "Sounds fun. Coincidentally, I'm actually kinda new with this town too. If you can show me around later, that would be good," I said while smiling. "And oh, you let me call you by your given name, so I guess it'd be only fair if I let you call me Shinji, too," I added.

"Yeah! It's a deal, Shinji!" He said before we both walked together to the school building. _"Hmm... my very first friend on my very first day. Not a bad start, Shinji."_ I muttered happily to myself.

So far so good in starting my new life, even though I was kinda worried about my 'reputation' point. Everything went smooth and peaceful, and I hoped it'd stay like that as long as possible.

But of course, even my moment of peace was usually pretty short-lived.

"Oh yeah dude, I was about to ask..." Issei called me. "...What class are you in? Have you got that yet?" He asked. "Well, actually I was supposed... to..." I stopped dead in my track. Sweat drenched my back and I gulped after finally remembered what I was forgetting about.

" _Just for a few minutes, Kido-san. We can't have you late to class on your first day."_

" _bye~~ Shinji-nii~, don't be late, okay!"_

...

...

...

"OH SHIITTT~ I FORGOT ABOUT THEM!"

And just like that, I dashed at full speed, leaving Issei behind without even saying anything. The only thing on my mind that time was how screwed would I be if I late.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

The good news was: I technically wasn't late.

The bad news was: Shinra-senpai wasn't happy.

I barely arrived at the teacher's room when the bell rang. Shinra-senpai was waiting for me outside of the room, standing upright with her hands folded in front of her chest, and generally was looked very pissed.

"...Do you have anything you want to say, Kido-san?" She growled very menacingly that made me had to resist myself from falling on my knees whimpering, doing _dogeza_ on the spot, or just ran away screaming like a little girl.

The best thing I could muster (that wouldn't make me sounded **too much** of a coward) was, "I'm so sorry! Please don't kill me! I promise this won't happen again!" all while bowing completely 90 degrees (please don't judge)

I heard Shinra-senpai sighed, then told me to raise my head. "...but I will personally put you into my watchlist from now on, Kido-san. If you pull something like this again, I'll assure you that Kaichou will hear about this matter," and immediately threatened me like that.

Oh great, just great... vice president of the student council has her eyes set on me on my first day of the school. Just my rotten luck.

I peeked inside the teacher's room. Some teachers were already preparing to go for their homeroom. Some who were not, were flocking together in the middle of the room. In the center of them all, was my sister telling jokes and laughing, and was followed by all the teachers present.

Some teachers rubbed her hair and pinched her cheek slightly, like they were comparing her to a small hamster. Heck, she had even already got a present, as she was sucking a lollipop, maybe was given by one of the teachers.

Wow, my sister and her magnetic personality still impressed me even until now.

Finally, Shinra-senpai called Yui over, and introduced me to one of the teacher that was supposed to be my homeroom teacher. She then excused herself to attend her own class. I and Yui once again apologized for the trouble we had caused her, before she walked away.

Before we parted ways, I and Yui made a promise to go home together after school ended. After that, we followed our respective homeroom teacher to our respective class.

My HR teacher stopped at one of the classroom, which was class 2-B according to the sign. My teacher went in first, after told me to wait for his signal before coming in. After the signal came out, I went in and wrote my name on the blackboard.

" _This is it, Shinji,"_ I prepared myself. I breathed while standing facing my classmate. _"Your first introduction. Don't mess it up! Don't mess..."_

 **"Ohhh... Shinji! Yooshaa~ you're in our class! Hell Yeah!"**

Before I got a chance to even say anything, someone shouted pretty loud, which made everybody's attention, including mine, switched to him.

The guy, of course, was my perverted first friend that I just met this morning, Hyoudou Issei. He was waving at me from his chair, smiling widely as always.

... I wasn't sure why, but I got this ominous feeling that he gonna ruin my introduction if I didn't do something quick.

"Oh, you know our new transfer student, Hyoudou?" My teacher asked Issei. He then answered energetically, "Of course, sensei! We just become best buddies this morning, after he helped me peek... No, I mean helped me with my, umm... chores. Yeah, chores and stuff."

...

...

Did he just say that I helped him 'peek'?

... And why did all these girls suddenly glare at me like I was cockroach that had to be stomped flat right here and now?

I wasn't exaggerating that last sentence, you know. After Issei made that statement, all of the girls in the class (which were significantly more than the boys) shifted their hateful and disgusted glare toward me. Goshh... I swear if stares had physical form, I'd be full of holes right now.

"Is that so? Well then Kido, I guess you'll be sitting beside Hyoudou from now on." The situation got even worse when my teacher just placed me in the worst seat possible. And I hadn't even started my introduction, for swivel sake!

But looking at my classmates, I immediately knew they were not interested about my introduction anymore. So I just sucked it, dragged my body sluggishly to my seat, while trying my best to ignore these piercing glares that came from every direction. Issei though, seemed fine with it and even welcomed me to my table.

And just like that, my supposedly peaceful school life crumbled down in front of my eyes.

...

... Just added one name in my 'to-strangle' list.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

The rest of that day was, well... which one do you think it was?

a) Awful

b) Terrible

c) Horrible

d) All of the above

If your answer were one of the answers above, well... congratulations! You got a cookie.

Nobody in my class would talk to me, so I was stuck with Issei (the very man who caused this mess in the first place) and his two also perverted friends, the monk, Matsuda, and the one with glasses, Motohama. They were overjoyed when Issei introduced me to them, and even more when they heard I had never had a girlfriend before, thinking they'd got another brother-in-arms.

They started to show me some of their 'precious collections' (why would they bring that thing to school, I have no idea), some erotic photos that Matsuda took (How could he not in jail yet, I don't know), and even invited me to participate in one of their _not-so-legal_ , and I quote, 'field activities' (no comment).

Of course, I refused all of that. Just so you know, it's not like I wasn't interested to, ehemm... female body, or anything. It's just very uncomfortable for me to discuss something like this when EVERY GIRL IN THE CLASS COULD HEAR US, FOR HOLY SWIVEL SAKE!

And they DID listen. After all, these 3 talked with such a loud voice without caring about their surroundings. All girls in the class literally inched away from our group, all while whispering something horrible about us. I particularly heard one girl said...

 _"They finally will evolve from 'perverted trio' to 'perverted quartet' this time. What a creepy bunch~"_

...

...

... God, what did I do wrong today?

This nonsense kept on happening for the rest of the day. I was tired of this, so I slept throughout the rest of the classes until the last bell rang. After that, I quickly packed my bag, and just about to ran out of the class when I heard that annoying and obnoxious voices called out to me for the hundredth times today.

"Yooo~ brother! How about our scheduled 'activities' today, eh? You coming or what?"

That was, of course, the perverted trio again as nobody beside them would talk to me. I sighed, then said with the calmest voice I could muster right now, "I told you guys already, I'm not coming. And please stop calling me brother."

"Nonsense! Of course you're our brother! In this school full of beautiful babes, we, the unpopular ones, should always stick together and keep trying to pursue our sole dream, to become the master of the true art of erotica. Isn't that right guys?" Issei declared that proudly, and his friends shouted with him "OOHHHH..."

" _I don't have time for this nonsense,"_ I clicked my tongue. As much as I wanted to shout at them to leave me alone, I knew better that doing it will backfired at me sooner than later.

People were already thinking that I was one of them. They wouldn't change their opinion toward me just because I stopped hanging out with these guys. As much as I hate to admit it, these people ARE my friend now. They have to be. If they stopped being my friend, I would end up being a loner; unable to get any allies anywhere else (and trust me on this, in this society, it's better to have a messed-up friend rather than no friend at all)

Fortunately, I am a man with high level of patience and tolerance. So instead of lashing out at them, I held myself back and said, "Listen dude, I'm happy about the invitation and all, but I got this problem at my home that's rather important. So I'm sorry but I can't go with all of you today," I clasped both of my palm together in front of my face to apologize.

"Hmm... if that's so, I guess it's okay, then," Matsuda said and Motohama nodded in agreement. "But remember dude, you can always join us whenever you want. Cause as I said earlier, we must stick together. We're friends after all," Issei added that as he patted my back, then they left me alone to go to their 'spot'.

"Friends, huh..." I muttered to myself, then picked up my bag and walked out of the class. Now I only had to call Yui to asked where was her. I reached for my phone in my pocket, but halted my step when I noticed something in my pocket was missing.

"My deck... SHIT, MY DECK!" I shouted in panic, and immediately ran back to the classroom. I searched every desk, starting from mine. I also searched every last inch of the classroom. I found nothing. Frustrated, I ran out of the classroom to searched somewhere else. I couldn't even think about where to look, I just searched blindly for several minutes until my phone rang.

It was Yui. Shit, I even forgot that I promised to go home with her. I sat on the stairs, catching my breath for several seconds before I picked the phone up.

"NIII~! Where are you? Are you still in the school? I've been waiting at the gate for half an hour now! Oyy... Shinji-nii, do you hear me?" She said continuously without stopping. I calmed myself down, took a deep breath.

"Calm down, sis, calm down. To answer your question, Yes, I'm still at school, and actually umm..." I stopped, thinking about how to say it without making her cut my dinner portion into half, "...actually, can you go home alone just for today? Umm... I got this important assignment from my teacher that's kinda important, sooo... I think I can't go home with you today."

Silence for a few seconds, before Yui said, "...you just lied, didn't you?" with a mix of angry and worried tone.

Shit, she's sharp!

"Nii, what happened?" Her tone back to normal and asked me with a worried voice.

I sighed. I realized I couldn't lie to her, and finally said, "... I lost something. I'm looking for it now, but I'm not sure I can find it fast enough. Just go home first, Yui. I'll catch up to you after I find it."

Yui then offered to help me, but I decline as I couldn't let her know what I was losing. She would be very angry if she knew I still brought my deck to school. After all, I promised her I wouldn't be involved with 'that world' anymore.

She hung up after wishing me good luck. Now calmed down, I started to think where was it possibly lost, and there were two specific places came into mind. It made sense, because I was in those places this morning, and maybe my deck was dropped there.

With that conclusion in mind, I stood up and walked to the first place that came to my mind.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

Once again, I stood in front of the student council room. Gosh, this place is still intimidating even if this was my second time here today. After gathering my courage, I knocked on the door.

One second... two seconds... three seconds passed. I was about to knocked once more before somebody in the room finally said, "Come in."

I came in, and found Shitori-senpai sitting alone behind her desk; staring at me sharply. This time I didn't see Shinra-senpai, or any of the member for that matter, but I didn't have any time to ask about that now. I stated my intention even before she had a chance to ask what's going on.

"I'm sorry for coming here this late, senpai. But the thing is, I lost something this morning. I just wanna ask whether you or your member see it in this room. It's a black rectangular thing, about this size..." I didn't waste my time and immediately cut into the case, explaining about the shape and size of my deck. Senpai didn't say anything during my explanation. Instead, she just listened patiently.

After I'm done with my rant, senpai spoke, "I understand, Kido-san. But unfortunately, I didn't see something like that all this time. Maybe I could try asking it to my members later."

"Yeah please do, senpai!" I said and bowed my head. "Now if you'll excuse me, I still have to look for it somewhere else. Good evening, senpai!" I said as I turned to the door.

"Wait a minute!" Senpai raised her voice to call me before I reached the door. "Don't call me senpai. Call me 'Kaichou', understand?" she ordered. I smiled at that, "Okay, kaichou! See you later!" and said that as I ran out of the room.

" _Yoshh... now for the other place. God... I hope they are done with whatever they're doing there,"_ I honestly prayed like that, as I was running toward the dojo.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"Finally, you really come!"

... OH GOSH DARN IT!

It was already pretty late when I arrived at the back of the dojo, so I genuinely hoped these perverted trio had done with their 'important activities' and went home so I could search for my deck without anyone bothering me. But apparently God was particularly pissed at me today so nothing I wished came true.

There, Issei and his two friends were all sitting together around the bushes, waiting for something. After he saw me coming, Issei stood up and waved at me. I didn't want to get involved with whatever they're doing, but seeing that I had to find my deck, I sucked my pride in and walked to them.

"Hey guys..." I said, trying my best to keep my smile on. "...Are you haven't done with the pe... ehemm... peeping yet?" I lowered my voice to say that last sentence.

"We haven't even started yet, man!" Matsuda complained at me, throwing his hand into the air in frustration. Motohama fixed his glasses and spoke to me, "I heard the kendo team will face some kind of competition soon. Maybe that's why their training took even longer than usual."

Issei then tapped my shoulder and spoke to all of us, "Hey, look at the bright side, man! Now our group is complete! We can do everything together now, and we can start by savoring these feast that soon will appear in front of our eyes together! Banzai!" Issei shouted, and his friends followed.

I rolled my eyes looking at this nonsense. I guess these guys forgot that peeping was supposed to be something illegal that you did in stealth, and they just shouted pretty loud like it's not a big deal.

It's fine, I guess. I'll just wait with them for a few minutes. When they were busy peeping later, I could...

"SHIT, DUCK!" Issei suddenly pushed my head down. We crouched together, and suddenly I could hear many girls' voice entering the room behind the dojo wall.

"Yeahh! Finally!" They whispered among each other excitedly. While they were busy struggling to look through one peephole that I guess Issei had just found for them this morning, I slipped away from them, and slowly crawled under the bushes where I hid with Issei this morning.

I rummaged through the bushes, and after not so long, I finally found the thing I lost. My deck was as good as it was this morning. After breathing sigh of relief, I crawled back to where the trio was, and was about to slip away from them unnoticed when I saw them and froze.

They weren't peeping anymore. They were staring in horror at something besides us. I slowly followed their line of sight, and...

 _...It was at this moment that we all knew, we fucked up..._

"As we thought, it's really you guys again..." one of the girls, who were now surrounding us with full kendo gear, growled angrily with eyes full of bloodlust. "...and look, you even bring someone new with you," she said, turning her attention toward me.

None of us dared to move. Shit, even though I was no stranger to people trying to kill me, these girls' bloodlusts were just so terrifying to the point they could easily rivaled those battle veterans that I'd fought for months.

"Uwaahh... so creepy. As I expected from the perverted trio, though. Or..." one of the girls glanced toward me. "...should we call you perverted quartet now?"

... Whatever might happen from now on, I REFUSED to let that degrading nickname stuck to me.

"Look here, we're..."

Before I finished my sentence, like a slow motion, I saw Matsuda and Motohama ran away from their kneeling position to the other side of the dojo. Shit, they intended to leave me and Issei below the mercy of those _shinai_. But before they could run far...

 _*THWAACKKK...*_

They were hit right in the face, and immediately fell flat on their back. From the other side, more girls appeared with kendo's attire and shinai in their hand. Seeing Matsuda and Motohama didn't move, Issei immediately ran to them and shook their body vigorously, but of course, without result

(Trivia: Being hit by _shinai_ hurts)

"GET THEM, GIRLS!" With that signal, all the girls pounced to us like a tiger to their prey, with their swords raised. At that moment, the only one thing I could think of was...

" _I hope Yui will never find out about this."_

* * *

XXXXXX (Third-Person POV) XXXXXX

* * *

"Muuu... Shinji-nii's late," Yui said as she sat alone at the dining table, with all the dinners ready. She was all alone in their house, grumbling to herself.

"I wonder if he's okay," Yui concerned voice reverberated in the quiet house. "I knew I should've help him back then. Ughh... stupid me!" She muttered to herself harshly.

 _ **"Yui..."**_

Out of nowhere, a heavy voice suddenly rang inside the whole room. Yui froze when she heard that voice which calling her name. Even worse, she was familiar with that voice, and got terrified immediately.

"NOOOOO..." she screamed at top of her lungs. She fell from her chair, her body trembled greatly as she covered her ears.

 _ **"Yui... it's me, Yui. Why're you afraid of me?"**_

"NOOO... LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONE!" She started chucking things at the source of that voice, that being the window near the family room.

Finally, she grabbed the telephone book and threw that to the window. The window shattered immediately, leaving the room in silence once more. No voice could be heard except Yui's sobbing voice.

"Uu...uuhhh... _*sob* *sob*_ , save me... Shinji-nii, Ren-san..."

* * *

 **And... that's it for chapter 1.**

 **I'm sorry if it's too long and rather boring, as there's still no action scene whatsoever. Don't worry, though. I assure you there will be a small fight scene in the next chapter, as our MC will have a mock battle against the one and only blonde prince of Kuoh.**

 **Alright, I'm GEStorm signing off for now!**

 **Next Chapter: I Make Some Friends (that Are Not Suck)**


	3. Chapter 2: I Make Some Friends

**Hello Guys!**

 **Wow, it's been almost 3 weeks, huh? Finally, I've done with this chapter.**

 **Sorry if you think it's been to long. I've been busy with college again after my holiday was over. From here on, I maybe only can post in once every three weeks, give or take.**

 **So without further ado, I hope you'll enjoy the story! Sorry if there's any grammar or spelling error.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Ryuki or High school DxD.**

* * *

Chapter 2: I Make Some Friends (that Are Not Suck)

* * *

Would anyone be surprised if I said my life took a spectacular nosedive after that peeping incident?

Maybe I should break it down a little bit.

After that particular event when I and the infamous 'perverted trio' got beaten down mercilessly by the kendo club, they literally left us half-dead behind the dojo. Luckily, Issei and I survived the onslaught and still strong enough to haul Matsuda and Motohama's unconscious body to the infirmary (that guy's tough, I'll give him that)

Unfortunately, the doctor had already left, so we stuck tending our own wounds. Fortunately, I was good at treating wounds (being in constant life and death situation kinda forces you to learn how to take care of yourself), so in a matter of minutes most of our wounds were already cleaned, disinfected, and wrapped in bandages.

Matsuda and Motohama woke up after I was done treating them. They made a ruckus as soon as they're awake, crying and whimpering because they had failed to see some boobs or ass for the day. Worse yet, Issei soon followed. He cried manly tears as they hugged each other and decided to drop by Motohama's house to watch some of his 'new collections' (seriously, how these guys can be this energetic after getting severely beaten down is beyond me).

They actually also invited me, but I refused, saying that I had to go home quickly for personal reasons. They understood, and we parted ways at the school gate as these 3 walked to Motohama's house.

Then I walked home and safely arrived at my house. I took a long, nice, warm bath and ate a warm, home cooked dinner made by Yui, as we shared our story about the first day of school, laughing and joking as we always did. After that, I managed to sleep peacefully and had a good dream about world peace.

You'd think after this very heavy and taxing day, I'd deserve to have at least a moment of peace at my own home, right?

...

...

...

HAHAHAHAHAHA... ABSOLUTELY WRONG!

That scenario maybe would happen if God was kind and merciful for me today. But as you can remember, I'd had a very hard day in school, and apparently God Almighty decided it wasn't enough, so He decided to ruin the rest of my day too.

Here, let me break it down for you.

On the way home, I kept trying to formulate a good and acceptable reason for Yui about these bandages all over my body. Maybe I could say I fell from the stairs (totally cliché, but sometimes work), or I could also say that my lost thing was taken by some bad guys, and I had to fight them to get it back (rejected, as it will make her even more worried), or... should I just say the truth?

...

...

Nah, stupid idea, Shinji. What the hell were you thinking?

There's no way I'd say I got this wound after being caught in the act of peeping. Heck, Yui would slap me back to yesterday if she knew I did that kind of thing, and then locked me outside the house to atone for my sin for the rest of my life.

But the main problem was, if I said what really happened there (that I was just being there to look for my lost item and accidentally got dragged into the that mess), Yui'd definitely ask about what my lost item really was. No, I couldn't let her know that I still brought my deck to school. She'd be mad, and oh boy, did I not want to be anywhere near her when she's mad. God, I still shivered a little whenever I recalled that event.

When we moved here, Yui had actually asked me to destroy my deck. But as we couldn't be sure about what would happen in the future, I told her that I would keep it for safety if something bad happened. As expected, she didn't take my refusal well.

UNEXPECTEDLY, she immediately went ballistic. She grabbed a hammer from the toolbox and started swinging it wildly onto my deck. Fortunately, as I was kinda a fighter myself, I managed to subdue her and took the hammer away from her before she managed to destroy anything important.

Pro tip: One should never put a hammer anywhere near a rage-filled loli.

Note to self: Made sure there's no hammer anywhere near Yui when I explained myself to her.

Finally, I made a promise to NEVER, EVER associate myself with this thing anymore (something I utterly failed at), and **only** after I did that, Yui calmed herself down. Since that day, I'd been keeping that thing in the drawer near my bed in my room, somewhere Yui wouldn't carelessly check. I'd been trying my best to ignore it ever since; but as usual, (I don't make this stuff up, I swear) it popped up on my desk every morning, SOMEHOW.

And on some stupid sentiment, I chose to bring it with me on the first day of my school, instead of just shoving it back into the drawer like I always did (immediately regretted my decision). As the result, I was deemed a pervert, got my ass brutally kicked by a bunch of girls with death sticks (read: _shinai_ ), and now forced to think my way out of my sister's wrath.

...

...

Sometimes, I wondered why I stopped Yui from destroying my deck back then.

I was still deep in my thought when I realized I was already in front of my house. I sighed, as I knew there's no running away from this. I unlocked the door with my key, and opened it slowly.

Yui wasn't there waiting for me, which I took as lucky and weird both at the same time. Usually, whenever I came home late, she always had stood in front of the door with her hands on her hips and pout on her face, ready to scold the hell out of me.

Suddenly, I heard something that immediately raised all the alarms inside my body. I tried to listen very closely, and finally managed to identify 2 kinds of sounds.

The first one, which is clearer, was the sound of wind. It's like when you forgot to close the window on windy night (such as this), and as the result the wind just gushed into your room while producing some weird sucking sound.

The second one, which was subtle but seriously scaring me out, was the sound of someone sobbing.

… Yeah, just try imagining it for a second. You arrived home late, found your house dead quiet, and suddenly gust of wind rushed in and you heard mysterious sobbing voice came from inside.

That's legit horror flick's scene right there.

After standing frozen for several seconds, I gripped my trembled hands harder (yeah, I was trembling; don't judge) and proceeded to walk as quietly as possible to the source of the voice, that being the family room.

And I couldn't stress enough that what I saw there completely shocked me to the very core.

First thing I noticed was the window's shattered. That's why the wind could blow in so easily. Strange enough though, I didn't find anything laying around the window that possibly was used to break it. Even more strange, I didn't see any glass shard near the window. That's weird, because if somebody tried to break into the house by breaking it, the glass shards should've had gotten in too. Unless...

I tiptoed very carefully to the broken window, and peered outside. My guess was soon proved, as I saw the glass shards scattered on the other side of the window, along with the telephone book with some glass shards still stuck onto it.

That means, whoever broke the glass did it by throwing the telephone book from the INSIDE. And the only one that should've had been inside the house was...

I walked away from the window and started looking for Yui. I could see the dining table was already full of dinner, but one of the chair; the one that Yui usually sits on; fell down. I felt even more panicked. I walked closer to the dining table, and suddenly that sobbing voice was heard even more closer.

I turned, and found Yui curling up beside the phone cabinet while sobbing. Wave of ease and worry washed over me at the same time. I was glad she was okay, but I was also worried. I immediately ran toward her and grabbed her shoulder. Her eyes were puffy as she hugged her knees tightly.

I tried to call her name, and she then slowly raised her head to meet my face. I assured her everything will be okay, and picked her up bridal style then brought her to her room.

She hugged my neck tightly and didn't make any voice at all as we walked slowly. This silence was starting to get into my nerves, to be honest. I really wanted to ask what's going on, but I held myself back, as it could wait for later. The most important thing to do now was to calm her down. I could ask about whatever happened tomorrow. With that in mind, I opened her room's door and laid her on her bed.

After covering her with the blanket, I intended to go back to the family room to fix the broken window, or at least to cover it with something. But before I could turn away from her, she took my sleeve and gripped it tightly, preventing me from going out of the room.

I looked at her face. It was still so pale, and her eyes were still teary. I could even feel her hand that was gripping me trembled. There's no way I could leave her alone after seeing her condition like that. So, I sat beside her on the bed and told her everything's gonna be okay, all while caressing her hair gently. Her complexion gradually getting better and better, even if she still didn't speak even one word to me.

I ended up keeping her accompanied until she fell asleep, and just realized then that it was midnight. I pull up her blanket, and left the room very quietly. I then went back to family room and covered the shattered window with some old newspapers, as I was too tired to fix it right then and there.

Fortunately, it didn't take long time. After that I cleaned up the dinner as I'd already lost my appetite, then went straight to bed after changing my clothes.

I couldn't sleep that well, though. My mind kept wandering back to Yui. It's maybe kinda obvious to anyone who know Yui's behavior at all, but Yui is NOT a crybaby. Heck, as much as it's pain to admit it, Yui's braver than I am in many ways (NEVER tell her I said this, it'll get over her head) I couldn't imagine anything that could make her freaked out like that.

In fact, the last time I saw her looked terrified to that extent was...

...

...

When... she saw her brother.

That realization hit me like a sixteen-wheeler truck to the face. I quickly get up from my bed, and instinctively checked every mirror and any reflective surface in my room. I found nothing wrong and fell to the bed, panting with my heart beating like crazy.

Di-did he find us?

I tried my very best to get rid of the worst conclusion that just popped up in my head. My hands shivered as my eyes couldn't stop observing my surrounding. The last thing I wanted was one of his 'monsters' caught me off guard, and that made me can't sleep.

Heck, could you even sleep when you assumed someone watching you in your own room?

...

... Thought so.

I stayed awake for a few more minutes before finally, my exhaustion got better of me. I yawned, then laid down on my bed, while trying to ignore the possibility of someone (/something) stalking me in my sleep. The last thought I had before fell unconscious was...

" _I hope tomorrow will be better"_

... And ultimately failed to notice that I just jinxed myself, BIG TIME.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"SHINJI-NII, WAKE UPPP!"

 _*BRUAAKKK...*_

"GUORGHH... ARGHH..."

Once again, I reacted like that when my gut was introduced HARD WAY to the dictionary. I coughed several times while rubbing my maybe-bruised stomach, before turned to face whoever had attacked me in the first place.

My sister was there, standing beside my bed with both her hands on her hips and pout on her face. I stared in disbelief for a second there. Not because she'd had a nerve to hit me with a thick dictionary (she'd done that every now and then, after all), but because she'd behaved so naturally that I felt like yesterday night's incident had never happened in the first place. I was just about to ask how's her condition, but she cut me off with her usual machine gun styled-nagging.

"Mouuu... Nii~, stop lazying around and get up! Please look at the time now! We're almost late here! Muu... why're you especially hard to be woken up today?" She nagged as such like she'd always done whenever I woke up late. While I usually just chuckled whenever this happen, just for today I couldn't just make a joke around it.

"Sis, are you..."

Before I could even finish my sentence, she'd already turned her body away from me and walked to the door. Just before she went outside, she called me "We don't have any time to talk now, Nii! Quick, change your clothes now or we won't have any more time for breakfast!" and after that, she got out of the room and closed the door behind her.

I sat blankly on my bed for a few seconds, completely flabbergasted of what just happened. What the heck's happening, exactly? Was anything happen last night even real? If so, how could Yui be so... indifferent about it?

I realized there's no point thinking about it myself. I had to ask about this matter directly to Yui. She's the only one who could tell me what happened yesterday in detail.

With that new conviction in mind, I immediately changed my clothes, took my bag, and ran to the dining room.

Yui was sitting in her usual spot, on her usual chair. She was munching on her toast when she saw me coming and hurriedly signaled me with her free hand to sit and eat as well. I complied and sat across her, and immediately started eating.

We ate in silence for a few minutes, before I decided this awkwardness might kill both of us and had to go away.

"Soo... Yui, about last night, are you..."

"Fiuuhhh... I'm done! Thanks for the food!" Again, Yui interrupted me before I could finish. She hurriedly ran off to the kitchen and started washing her dish while humming something cheerfully. If any other people looked at her behaving this way, I bet they'd immediately consider she's okay and she'd already forgotten about the last night incident. But of course, I knew better.

She was dodging the question.

It's always like this. Whenever she went through something particularly bad, Yui would always seem to forget about it overnight. She would blatantly act like it didn't happen at all, or rather, she would try her best to forget it, no matter how terrible it was. Usually I was okay with that, as I always supported her whenever she wanted to move on and left unpleasant experiences behind.

But for this case, I had a weird feeling that just forgetting it wouldn't help much, especially if my speculation about it's something to do with her brother last night was correct.

Anyway, I let her off until I finished my breakfast and we left home together. On the way, she started to do her usual antics. Hopping around and humming cheerfully, but something about her behavior seemed so... off today. It's like she was forcing herself to act like her usual self, and that's totally unpleasant to look at.

Worse still, she totally didn't let me to pry about what happened last night. Whenever I started a conversation that lead to that matter, she would cut me off immediately with whatever topic she could spew at the moment notice.

Our conversation became one-sided storytelling, with her continuously talking about whatever things I couldn't care about (and I had a feeling she didn't really care about that, either), and me still trying to strike a proper conversation, preferably about last night's matter.

Finally, I lost my patience after a while. I stopped in my track, gripped her wrist rather forcefully, and forced her to turn to face me. She genuinely startled and even let out a yelp, but I honestly couldn't really care about that right now. I really had to know about what happened yesterday. I started talking before she could even react to me.

"Alright, sis. I think the _cat-and-mouse_ game is enough for now. I believe we have another, **more important** , matter to discuss, right?" I said with a dead serious tone, emphasizing on the word 'more important'. Yui immediately averted her eyes from mine, her hand started to sweat.

Her expression clearly stated that she didn't want to talk about this. She bit her lips in frustration, and after a blink of an eye her expression was magically back to her usual cheerful and happy go lucky (though feel really forced) wide smile.

"Wh... wh-what are you talking about, Shinji-nii? Ahh... umm... what important matter are you talking about? Oo... oohhh... I know! Is it about when I told you abo..."

Her stuttering stopped abruptly when I pulled her into a hug. I seriously hated to make my sister feeling unpleasant like this, even more when I had to make her cry. But I convinced myself that this was necessary, and I couldn't pretend I didn't notice Yui's weird, forced behavior any longer.

A second passed, then two, then three. None of us said or did anything. I just stood there embracing Yui who was still silent all along, with her face on my chest.

"Look, sis..." I muttered gently to her while caressing her hair, "I promised you back then that I would protect you, and I assure you I still hold that promise until now. But to do that I need to know what exactly had happened. So I need you to help me out here, Yui."

Right after I was done with my little speech, Yui started sobbing in my embrace, with her face buried even deeper inside my chest. I just kept silent while caressing her hair gently. After a while, she started to calm down, and the sobbing stopped. Then I knelt down and wiped her face from tears with my thumbs.

Her eyes were still red from crying, and seeing her like that made me glad we're not near the school yet. If I was found embracing a crying little girl in the middle of the street by any of the student from my school, who knows what another misunderstanding might be created. And honestly, I didn't need another huge misunderstanding to further degrade my _already-at-the-worst-level_ reputation, thank you very much.

So, to avoid further inconvenience, I brought Yui to the nearby park. We sat on one of the bench, sipping a canned soda I bought from the nearest vending machine. The atmosphere here was very nice, suitable for a nice, long chat. I figured this park must be popular for a date spot or something like that, but probably because it's still morning, there were not too many people in here.

"Are you sure we should do this, Nii? I mean, what if we become late to school?" Yui asked me with slightly worried tone. Sure, it would be bad to be late to school, but today my priorities had slightly changed from the usual course.

"We have something more important than school now, sis. 'Sides, it won't take long, I promise," I assured her with the most confident smile I could muster. Then I immediately started to address the main problem.

"Soo... Yui, what happened last night?" I asked straight to the point with serious tone. I could feel her shoulder tensed up a bit with my question. She bit her lip and casted her gaze downward, looking very troubled. Seeing that, I immediately hugged her shoulder to make her relax a bit, and assured her everything will be okay. After a while, she finally started the explanation.

She told me when she was waiting for me to come home last night, a creepy voice suddenly called her name. She also explained that the voice came from behind the window. She immediately freaked out and threw a telephone book to the source of the voice, instantly shattering the window in the process. After that, she was too scared to move or to do anything else, so she cowered beside the cabinet until I came.

Her story was very easy to understand. If her explanation was true, that maybe it was just a thief who coincidentally caught her name from somewhere and tried to use it to get into the house by pretending as one of the residence, or at worst, a creepy stalker who was stalking my sister in my absence.

But there's one thing I didn't understand. Sure, being called by an unknown creepy voice outside the window in the night could be very scary, but as I had stated before, my sister wasn't a coward. I could assure you she wouldn't be that scared over something like that. Heck, I could even imagine her going out from the window with a broomstick in hand to beat the living hell out of whoever brave enough to trespass our house (this had happened before). So I think this explanation was still missing something important.

"Yui, this voice..." I asked very slowly, "...do you recognize it?"

I didn't even have to wait for her answer to make a conclusion. As soon as I asked, her face suddenly went white. Her shoulder started trembling, and she hugged her own body while shivering uncontrollably.

Yep, my guess last night was head-shot.

"It's really him, huh..." I muttered with slightly angry tone. _"I should've known, but I can't believe he found us this fast."_ I clenched my fist in anger, my feeling was a mess. Fortunately, somebody held my hand, which effectively woke me up.

Yui looked up to me, looking for encouragement. My distracted mind was suddenly refocusing itself. _"Right, I can't look weak in front of Yui! I must be strong,"_ I thought that to myself as I smiled and rubbed her hair energetically. "Don't worry, sis! We'll be fine! I won't let him get anywhere near you! After all, I promised to protect you, right? So you just need to believe in me, okay?" I said as cheerfully as I could, hoping to cheer her up too.

Amazingly, my attempt succeeded. Her smile gradually coming back onto her face, and she nodded her head in approval, "Yes, I believe in you, Shinji-nii! Ehehe... thanks for cheering me up there," she said that as her smile beaming at me.

Wow, even until now I'm still amazed at how fast Yui could pick herself back up after a fall. She is really amazing after all.

Yui then stood up and pulled me up too. "Come on, we have to be quick, Nii! School's gonna start soon. If we don't start sprinting now, we'll be late!" She urged me, and I could just comply. Ahh... even if it's a little tiring to deal with her hyperactive demeanor every day like this, it's still hundred times better than seeing her depressed and gloomy expression, I guess.

In the end, we raced to the school. But to be honest, I was still thinking about the problem along the way. If Yui's brother really had found us, then I don't think we can avoid him forever. Sooner or later, I maybe would get dragged back into 'that war', and this time maybe there'd be no turning back.

I shook that troubling thought out of my head. Right now, the only thing I wanted to think about is Yui's happiness. I wanted to believe that this peaceful morning and our peaceful life could last forever.

 _"Even if..."_ I reached into my pocket and tapped what's inside _"...even if I have to end up using it again"_. With that conviction in mind, I ran with Yui toward the school gate.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

...

...

... "Umm... can somebody please explain to me why I'm here again?"

I asked in utter confusion to whoever willing to hear me out. Unfortunately, everybody here seemed to be busy with their own duty, and therefore couldn't hear me (or they all just agreed to ignore me altogether) That left me here, standing speechless in the middle of the room, still trying to comprehend what got me in this situation in the first place.

Oh, and if you're wondering, I was in the student council room. Again.

But not because I was late, mind you. I and Yui arrived on time, just before the bell rang. Then in the middle of the homeroom, I was suddenly summoned to the student council room through the speaker, which made me confused, but somehow made the entire class looked at me like I just won an Oscar.

Issei and his two friends even looked at me with an envious glare and called me 'lucky bastard', which left me even more puzzled. Since when being called by the student council made you 'lucky'?

I finally left the room and power-walked to the said place. This would be my third time visiting this room, then. Hell, I didn't know whether to be proud or to be ashamed of that fact. My last thought before finally knocked on the door was _"I hope I'm not in trouble."_

... Which made me realize how much I underestimated my own bad luck.

So, to sum what happened next... well, there's pretty much nothing. Every member of the student council (which was greatly dominated by female, by the way) was looked very busy doing whatever assignment was given to them.

Even the only member I knew, Sona-kaichou and Tsubaki-fuku kaichou, was busy signing and sorting a huge stack of papers. They were just too busy it's like they didn't notice I was in the room, and I couldn't just let myself to interrupt them because of it.

I just stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, with no one to talk to or to explain what's going on. Finally, after a while, their job was done. They gathered in front of Sona-kaichou's desk, and after a short briefing, they were dispersed and left the room quietly, leaving me, Sona-kaichou and Tsubaki-fuku kaichou in the room.

"Sorry for the wait, Kido-san," Kaichou finally addressed me. Her expression and tone were all business-like as usual.

"It's cool, kaichou. I could see you're all busy. Please don't apologize," I responded while waving my hand casually. "If it's okay with you though, can I know why you called me here first thing in the morning?"

"Yeah, about that..." Sona-kaichou adjusted her glasses and said, "...first of all, have you found your missing item yet, Kido-san?"

My mind genuinely raced the moment she said that. Gosh, how could I forget that yesterday I asked her to tell me if she happened to find my missing deck. Now that I got it back already, I should've had told her earlier. Gahhh... I'm so dumb.

"Oh yeah, sorry I didn't tell you earlier, kaichou! I actually had found it yesterday. I'm sorry to make you worry about something like this!" This time, I bowed my head to her. She then told me to raise it, while saying "Is that so? I'm glad" with genuine relaxed expression on her face.

"Soo... is this the only reason you called me here? I don't think that's the case, though," I asked her that while tilting my head slightly. Yeah, I don't believe she would bother herself to call me here the first thing in the morning just to ask something trivial like this. There must be another main reason here.

"Yeah, you are right," and suddenly after she said that, the mood in the room changed one eighty degrees. It suddenly felt like the room's temperature was dropped to below zero point. Kaichou expression changed from relaxed to super pissed, and this time she glared at me like a lion eyeing its prey. I felt like if I made one wrong move, she would jump on me and tear my face to pieces.

"I called you here this morning to discuss about the report I received from the female kendo club regarding your... questionably illegal action yesterday evening"

...

...

... Oh, shit! God frigging dammit! How could I forget about that?!

I sweated profusely, and I could feel my hand shivered. Kaichou's voice sounded so cold I thought I will freeze to death on the spot. But fortunately, I was kinda used to people interrogating me with killing intent. So, instead of cowering in fear like many other people maybe did, I took a deep breath and calmed my nerves, then managed to speak one full sentence without stuttering at all.

"Kaichou, if I say it's just misunderstanding on your part, would you believe me?" I said that full of confidence. Maybe because I was sure I didn't do anything wrong back then, I could voice my defense easier.

Sona-kaichou, and even Tsubaki-fuku kaichou looked a little surprised at my remarks there. From their slightly amazed expression, I guess there were not many people who could retort her angry statement the way I just did. But of course, Sona-kaichou regained her composure fast, and soon her angry expression was back. "Do you have any proof to back your statement there, Kido-san?" She asked me again, and this time, I already know how to answer her.

I pulled my deck from pocket and showed it to her. "I was looking for this," I answered concisely. "Yesterday, when I and Yui was on our academy tour, I wanted to take a closer look at the dojo, so I asked fuku kaichou to went on ahead to the teacher's room while I went exploring the area around the dojo," I explained. "Then, I guess in the middle of my exploring, this was dropped near the bushes behind the dojo. I only came there to took it back."

Kaichou's eyes were narrowed even deeper. "Then, can you explain what business did you have near the bushes behind the dojo, so you could think your item was dropped there?"

Hearing this, I suddenly plastered the brightest smile I could ever muster on my face, like one that Yui showed me every day, and said "There's a cat."

As expected, Sona-kaichou and fuku-kaichou looked completely dumbfounded. Heck, their eyes and mouth hung wide open. Sheesh... I wished I had my camera ready.

"A... a cat?" They both asked at the same time, still looked confused of my statement.

"Yep, a cat." I answered, still with my 100-megawatt smile. "Back then, when I was walking around the dojo, I heard a cat purring under the bushes. So, I didn't waste any time and immediately went to play with it. And boy, did I not regret it! It was so cuteee~! You see, there was one time when..." and so I continue to talk super enthusiastically about how cute the (imaginary) cat was while making many kinds of gesture with my hand. I was about to tell them how I (imagining) played with her fluffy tail, before kaichou cut me off.

"EHEEMMM... Kido-san, I think we've heard enough, thank you," Sona-kaichou coughed very loudly to stop me from further ranting like a maniac. To this, I only responded with "ohh... sorry" and then shut my mouth for good.

After shutting me up, Kaichou still looked very overwhelmed with many emotions, mainly trying to determine whether my act just now was just a fake or I was seriously a cat-crazed lunatic. Finally, after a while, she asked me again, "do you have any witness to approve of this... this peculiar action of yours?"

"No, I think I don't. After all, I did that all behind the bushes." I answered jokingly with a little laugh. "I only stated what I did back then. No more no less."

Now, you must be wondering why I acted and answered like that. Well, the truth is, I kinda knew a type of people like kaichou. Whenever she had to make a judgement about people based on something she wasn't really sure, she would most of the time use intimidation. After all, there's saying that people show their true color under stress. That's why she used that piercing glare and absolute-zero demeanor of hers to intimidate me, with hope that I finally would make a mistake and spill out the answer she wanted.

But actually, the way to counter this type of people is pretty simple. You just have to be really good at showing poker face. Why? Well, because people like kaichou rely on intimidation and pressure to force the truth out of their victim, as long as you're not intimidated enough to accidentally do or say something stupid, you're safe.

I did that act to make sure kaichou knew that I wasn't intimidated by her. By joking, telling funny story, and laughing in the middle of the interrogation, I pretty much already convinced her that she couldn't get me to talk using this way.

Moreover, her type wasn't really a risk taker. They had to be 100% sure about their answer before making a judgement, and thus if their way of interrogation failed, they would definitely hold back their judgement. They wouldn't easily forgive you or write you off their list, of course. But at least it would give you some time to think about the next plan.

Plus, I kinda had an upper hand here. Kaichou knew I lost something yesterday, and Tsubaki-fuku kaichou saw me going to the dojo at the tour. So basically, these 2 people knew my explanation was at least, half accurate.

And just as I thought, kaichou looked like she had a hard time evaluating me. Her eyes narrowed, and she'd been silent for too long, proving that she wasn't really sure what to do about me. But finally, she sighed and asked, "... would it be okay with you if we do a little more investigation about this matter, Kido-san?"

Hah, called it!

"It's okay. Just know that I won't take back what I've stated no matter what," I successfully held back my smirk and bowed to both of them, "now if you'll excuse me, I will go back to my classroom now," and turned to the door. I just reached the handle bar when kaichou suddenly raised her voice to call me.

Wow, Déjà vu is real.

"May I ask you about your opinion regarding 3 students here?" Kaichou brought out 3 student's data and showed it to me. It was, of course, the data of Issei, Matsuda, and Motohama, the exact people who got involved with that incident with me. Or, should I say the exact people who got me involved in that incident?

I stunned there for a few seconds, considering my answer. If I told them they're just my classmate and I just coincidentally bumped into them when they were about to do their 'questionable deed' when I was looking for my deck, I could easily shift all the blame to them and clean up my name in front of these two.

But if I tried play a hero and said that they're my friend and I asked them to help me look for my deck, there's big chance I'm gonna get busted as well, because those three's reputation as 'peeping perverts' certainly had been famous throughout the school, and I somehow knew these 3 perverts (/friends) wasn't really a good liar. So if the student council decided to interrogate them too, I'm toast.

" _Hmm... what to do now?"_ I had to make a quick decision here, because kaichou certainly didn't need too much time before she deemed me suspicious. Finally, after quick consideration, I picked my answer.

"They're my friends. I had them helping me look for my item yesterday..." I answered with the most guilt-filled voice I could muster. "...they're already in so much trouble because of me. So kaichou, I beg you. Please don't drag them even deeper into this. I will take the punishment for 3 of us if it's necessary," I bowed my head deeply when I said that.

I waited for kaichou to say something. Finally, after a moment of silence, she said "please raise your head, Kido-san. We will not punish any of you before this matter is thoroughly investigated. For now, you may go back to your class. I'm sorry to take so much of your time."

With her permission, I then got out of the room quietly. The only thing that I could think as I walked out of the room was, _"well, I hope I'm not busted."_

* * *

XXXXXXX (In the student council room) XXXXXXX

* * *

As Kido Shinji walked out of the room, Shitori Sona kept observing him until he finally closed the door behind him shut.

"What do you think, Tsubaki?" Sona didn't waste any time and immediately asked her trusted vice president, Shinra Tsubaki.

"Well... for one, he is a good actor, that's for sure," Tsubaki answered her president with her own opinion.

"Yeah, and he knows exactly how to fend off intimidation. It was like... he's ever done it before, and not just for one time," Sona voiced her own opinion about that peculiar boy.

When she saw him in front of the school gate, fooling around with his sister, Sona didn't has any doubt that this boy would be the same as any other dull, shallow-minded boys in this school. But after having some interaction with him, Sona could easily tell that Kido Shinji is more than meet the eyes.

For one, the way he brought himself in front of people is really natural, but at the same time can be really well calculated. Take the time when he reported to the student council room for his missing item, for instance.

Usually, when someone lost his prized possession, their first reaction usually would be losing their mind and started to run around the school checking every corner they could check and asking every people they could ask.

But when Kido Shinji came, even though he looked slightly panicked, it's very clear that he was still in control of his own mind. Even though it's also very clear he really treasured whatever item that had gone missing, he didn't try to search the room because he knew it would be rude, and instead he asked Sona politely to help him find it. And the fact that he already knew where to look for his item as soon as he got out of the room proved that he's also capable of thinking in a long-term scale.

And just now, this man once again managed to impress Sona by not even flinching at her open attempt to intimidate him. It's not that she's really proud about it, but she was usually success at intimidating.

Due to her 'family circumstances', she had seen many discussions and debates in her life, and even had practiced doing that in a very young age. Moreover, she was also aware of her image as a strict and sometimes scary student council president, and always tried to use that image to her best benefits.

The secret of every successful interrogation is how you get a hold of the other party's way of thinking and steer them to meet your expectation, and how you control the course of the conversation. And for that, intimidation usually is the best way to do just that.

But this guy... it seemed like he was immune to whatever attempt she used to frighten him. No... it was like, he knew exactly well how to handle an interrogation. He even found an opportunity to make a joke and laugh, which had seriously thrown Sona and Tsubaki off the course for a while.

Finally, at the end, when Sona asked about his partners-in-crime in order to test how he would react, he once again broke her expectation in quite the unusual way.

At a glance, he only got 2 options. Either shifting the blame to the trio and walk away safely or risking himself to safe them all. No matter what he chose, he would lose the respect of either the trio or the student council. But this guy immediately found the third way.

He chose to risk himself for them, but he said that in a way that would make the student council and the trio themselves feel sympathetic for him. By saying he would take the blame for them, he had actually tried to make the student council saw him in the better light and kept the respect and friendship with the trio.

This guy had successfully turned two win-loss options into one win-win solution, and he did it in just a split second. What a formidable man.

"What's our next plan now, kaichou?" Sona's thought was interrupted by Tsubaki. As she said that, Tsubaki poured the tea to Sona's cup. "Are you still thinking of... 'inviting' him in?"

"We'll first wait for our members' opinion," Sona stated calmly as she sipped the tea. "But, considering what we had seen today..." suddenly, Sona was holding a bright red chess piece in her right hand and observing it carefully, "I have to admit he can be a good candidate."

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"Fiuhh... I'm glad that's over," I wiped sweat off my forehead as I walked to my classroom. On the way, I could only pray that kaichou didn't catch me lying. Or even if she did, I hoped my last act back then would make her reconsider her option to punish me or the trio.

"Hey, you're done already?"

Suddenly, I heard a voice said that directly from behind me. Instinctively, I turned and found a girl smiling in front of me.

The said girl is a beautiful girl with reddish-brown hair tied into twin tail. She also had warm brown eyes that somehow reminding me of Yui. Being stared by cute girl like her honestly kinda embarrassing, so I averted my eyes quickly. I only could hope I wasn't blushing too much.

"Yeee…ah. I guess I am," I answered while trying my best to remember her face. Weirdly, I had this feeling that I had seen her before, but I couldn't remember when, where, or how. I finally gave up and just asked, "umm… do I know you?"

She giggled at my confused face. "No, I don't think you do. But I do know you, though. After all, you're famous around here."

"Umm… famous? For what exactly?" I curiously asked even if I already had a hunch about the answer, and that answer was not good. The girl then confirmed my fear by saying, "you're the newest member of that infamous perverted trio, right? Oh, or should I say perverted quartet now?"

...

...

...

Even if I'm a man of patience and tolerance, I still couldn't stress enough how much I HATED that damnable nickname.

" **I'M NOT!** Don't call me by that name, please," I half-shouted, maybe a little too loud. Fortunately, as homeroom was on going right now, there's nobody in the corridor beside us now.

"Hahaha… sorry~ sorry~ Didn't know you would be so angry over that." What got me even more irritated was this girl didn't even react at my outburst. "But seriously though, I think that nickname has already stuck to you, no matter if you like it or not. I mean, I'm pretty sure every girl in my class was talking about that," she stated so bluntly as if that was obvious.

… Oh God, why did this happen to me?

How the hell could that rumor spread so fast anyway? I just transferred here yesterday, for swivel sake! Now I had to endure being called a pervert for the rest of my school life?! And what if Yui knew about this?! ARGGHHH…

"Umm… you okay? You look kinda pale," the reddish-haired girl asked me with worried tone. I just realized then that I was staring blankly at the floor, probably looking like a zombie that just about to commit suicide. "Want me to take you to the infirmary?"

I responded with weak tone. "Nah, I'm… good, thanks," and just about to turned back and continued walking, when suddenly I realized something important.

"You… why do you still talk to me normally?" She responded me with confused look, like I just said something weird. "You said I was infamous as a pervert. Why did you still approach me?" She touched her chin with her finger, pondering about the question.

After a while, she spoke her answer, "I honestly didn't really think about that, ehehe…" she giggled again and smiled at me, "but kaichou told us that you didn't seem like a bad guy, and considering kaichou is always right, I guess it's safe to say I believe in you too."

"… Wait, did you just say 'kaichou told you'?" and suddenly, the memory hit me right in the face. Yeah, I had met this girl before, we just didn't talk at all. Hell, I even doubted they notice I was in the same room with them. "You're… one of the student council member?" I asked in disbelief.

The girl then smiled apologetically. "Yeah… sorry about the whole 'not noticing you' act back then. Kaichou's order. She said she wanted to 'create the right mood' or something like that."

Believe it or not, her words actually made sense.

Making your target feels demeaned before questioning them is actually one effective way to make sure they talk. If kaichou knew this and deliberately ordered her members to ignore me on purpose, I guess I had to praise her even more.

"Oh yeah, my name's Meguri Tomoe, by the way," she introduced herself. "I'm second year student and secretary of the student council. Nice to meet you!" She said cheerfully while smiling so brightly. This girl starting to remind me a little too much of Yui, to be honest.

"I'm Kido Shinji, second year. Nice to meet you too, Meguri-san," I smiled back. Wow, did this mean she's gonna be my first (normal) friend in this school?

... Nah, I better didn't get my hopes too high. After all, just because she could talk to me normally didn't mean she actually wanted to be my friend. "If I may ask, what are you doing here, Meguri-san? Didn't you already get back to your class? What about homeroom?" I asked.

"Ohh~ about that..." she scratched the back of her head nervously. "I forgot something in student council room, so I want to get it back. Ehehe..." She laughed a little.

Then, for some reason, she leaned closer to me and tilted her head. "... You know, you seem okay."

"... Huh?" I stunned at her word, probably blushing as well. "Wh-what do you mean?" Confused, I asked her and took one step back nervously.

Seeing my reaction, she giggled again and corrected her posture. "Oh, sorry. It's just... I've never seen someone came out of the student council room looking so... indifferent, after talking with kaichou."

That statement got my attention. "What do you mean by that?" I asked curiously.

She just shrugged at the question. "Well... maybe you didn't know because you are a new student here, but kaichou and fuku kaichou is actually two of the most popular girls in the entire school. Many boys, and even girls adore... no, worship them because of their beauty and teachers like them because of their intelligence."

I tried to digest that information for a second, but apparently Meguri-san wasn't done. "Moreover, kaichou rarely ever call someone directly to the student council room, usually prefer to inform the teacher first to have them deal with the problem, or told one of us to deal with them instead. So, rumor arises that being called by student council actually considered one of the biggest privilege in this school."

" _Oh, that explains why my classmates looked at me like I just won a lottery this morning,"_ I thought. Well... I indeed couldn't deny that Sona-kaichou and Tsubaki-fuku kaichou were very beautiful. It's not surprising for them to have many fans, I guess.

"But you didn't look happy or anything when I and the other members saw you this morning. And you even didn't look sad or unsatisfied when you left the room. You looked glad, even." She ended her explanation like that, before adding, "... you're unique, you know, Kido-kun."

"Wow, okay, two things need correcting here," I coughed loudly in desperate attempt to hide my blush. "First, as you've already said, I Just transferred here yesterday. There's no way I could know about the 'most popular girls' or 'best privilege' thing. Second, I still don't think you can be looking forward to visiting a place where you know the authorities are waiting and ready to pass the judgement for your fate."

Meguri-san put her fingers on her chin again, "hmm... I think you're right. But still, it's the fact that many students here will do anything to experience what just happened to you, you know," she said.

"Well... I know I won't," I sighed. "I think I will go back to my classroom now, Meguri-san, thanks for the talk," I said and turned my body to walk away. After several steps, suddenly Meguri-san called from behind me.

"Heyyy Kido-kun! I had a feeling we will be working together sooner or later. Let's get along from now on, okay!" I heard her voice rang throughout the corridor. I just turned my body and about to ask what the heck did she mean, when I found she had already gone from my sight.

... Damn, she's fast!

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"""CURSE YOU, YOU LUCKY BASTARD!"""

I ducked quickly to dodged three fists that was swung directly onto my face. Then I instinctively jumped backward and stood up to face my assailants.

They were the 'perverted trio' (I know; the LAMEST name ever), my self-proclaimed 'brothers' who had been trying their best to harass me these past few hours.

I mean, ever since I came back from my trip to student council room, every student in the class had glanced at me curiously every once in a while. But these three were openly glaring at me with eyes full of hostility, like I just did something so bad and thus needed to be lynched for it.

Even worse, they'd also tried to physically annoy me. Poking my back and throwing random things at me continuously like a trio of second graders for the rest of the lesson time. I knew retaliating wouldn't do me any good, so I forced myself to bear with it.

Finally, when break time began, these three idiots immediately stood up and walked to me with absolute malice plastered on their faces. I was just about to explain what happened, when suddenly they swung their fists to me at the same time. Fortunately, there's no way those lousy punches could hit me.

"Hey! The hell, guys? What's your problem?" I shouted to them with annoyed expression.

"HOW DARE YOU BETRAY US? You... you... uuhhh... *hic*hic*" Issei shouted back at me, but suddenly his eyes started to get teary and as such he's unable to finish his sentence.

"How can you leave us alone to hog all those babes and boobs for yourself, Shinji! Aren't we brothers that already took a vow to always be together forever?!" Matsuda said, full of emotion.

"Yo-you... did you meet Shitori Sona-kaichou and Shinra Tsubaki-fuku kaichou? Ho... ho-how was them? Aren't they beautiful and sexy? Nee... did you get scolded by them? O-or punished? How was it feel? D-did it feel good? Did they go all sadist on you and force you to become their pet? ARGHH... I'M JEALOUS, DAMMITTT!" Motohama shouted desperately after he'd done with his imagination.

"Hey, chill guys! Please, for swivel sake, calm down!" I tried to calm them down, because I didn't need more eyes glaring at me more than there already were. Seriously, all the classmates could hear us, and they didn't look happy at all. "I didn't get called to student council room to be praised or anything like that, you know?"

And so, I told them the true reason why I was called by Sona-kaichou (with much smaller voice, of course), that we were already in the student council's bad list, and I had to lie to them to make sure we didn't get punished. Obviously, I asked them to lay low for a while because if we made another ruckus, we will definitely get in trouble with the student council.

UNEXPECTEDLY though, their reaction crushed my expectation greatly.

"""WHAT?! So you mean if we did that one more time, we'll get to meet Sona-kaichou and the rest of beauties in the student council? Awesome!"""

...

...

... Yep, my plan officially backfired, BIG TIME.

I smacked my forehead in disbelief. _"How could this happen to me?"_ I was seriously contemplating my life's choices until my phone rang inside my pocket.

 _Hii~ Shinji-nii!_

 _Let's eat lunch together! I'm waiting at the rooftop. I already brought your share, so you don't have to buy it anymore and just quickly come here! Don't be late :)_

As such was Yui's message to me. I checked the time and it was already 15 minutes through break time. I didn't want to miss my lunch, so I quickly dashed off the classroom when the trio were busy making a horrendous plan that possibly would get them into student council room (or expelled, depending on how you see it)

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

Yui was already on the rooftop when I arrived. She sat on the floor with a plastic bag full of breads, and was waving frantically at me. But the first thing that actually got my attention today was the fact that she wasn't alone.

Beside her sat a small girl with shoulder-length snow white hair and two long bangs going past her shoulder. She was munching something that looked like sweets, and she did have a lot of those in her plastic bag.

"Hi, Shinji-nii! Wow, you aren't late today. Good job~" she stood up and gave me two thumbs up. I smiled and ruffled her hair a bit, "what do you mean by that huh, you cheeky brat?" and said that jokingly. In the midst of our jokes, I peered to the other girl, and apparently Yui got my signal.

"Oh yeah, I want to introduce you to someone, Shinji-nii!" She then pulled the white-haired girl up. "She is Toujou Koneko-chan! My classmate and new best friend! Nee~ nee~ Isn't she cute? She looks like a cat, right! Kyaaa~ I wanna hug her!" Yui hyper-enthusiastically introduced me to her new friend while constantly hopping and hugging her like she's a doll.

"Hey, hey! Chill, sis! You're troubling her," I quickly grabbed Yui's collar and calm her down, as I was afraid she might scare off her new friend if she kept acting like a hyperactive kid on steroid. "Sorry about that, umm... Toujou, isn't it? Are you okay?" I asked her while trying to subdue my sister.

"Yes," she nodded and answered very concisely. "My name is Toujou Koneko. I'm first year. Nice to meet you, senpai," she answered politely bowed her head. I responded her the same way, "I'm Kido Shinji, second year. Thanks for wanting to be my sister's friend. I hope she won't cause you any trouble."

Now I got to look at her face clearly, I could say she really is cute. She had dazzling hazelnut eyes and wore cat-shaped hairpin on both sides of her hair. Her expression was mostly poker-faced, but that didn't reduce her cuteness very much because of her petite stature.

And Wow, now I got to look at it more closely, I just realized she was very small! Heck, she was a few inches even shorter than my sister, and that was saying something, mind you!

But in behavior, I could see that these two were exactly polar opposites. While Yui is cheerful and always smiling, Toujou's expression was mostly set on poker face. Also, Toujou was very quiet and a little cold, greatly different from my sister who was loud and bubbly by nature.

After introducing ourselves to each other, we sat together, and I ate the bread that Yui had gotten for me. She got me yakisoba bread and fried bread, so I thanked her and enjoyed my lunch.

We chatted a bit, and as expected, Yui was the one doing most of the talking. She told me how she and Toujou became friend, even though from her story I could sum up that she practically 'proclaimed' Toujou as best friend just because she's cute. Oh, and she also got along well with her other classmates, who apparently overjoyed because they got another 'unofficial mascot' in their class, aside from Toujou (that's my sister for you)

She also asked how's my day; I told her it was great (if you can say being called to the student council room and getting told that they got their eyes on you as 'great') She also asked whether I already made a friend; I told her I haven't, but I would keep looking (I ironically have, but I'm NOT letting them anywhere near her)

Seeing her already being energetic and cheerful like normal made me seriously glad. I honestly a bit afraid if she would be wary of other people because of yesterday's incident. I guess my pep talk with her this morning really worked, after all. That, and the fact that Yui was indeed a tough girl.

Toujou was pretty much quiet during our conversation, just continuously munching whatever snacks in her plastic bags. I didn't know whether it's because she was naturally a quiet girl, or because she was bored here. Well... despite her extroverted demeanor and open-mindedness, Yui actually isn't the best person at reading the mood. I was afraid she just took Toujou here despite she was unwilling to.

"Uwaahhh..." My thought was cut off by Yui, who shouted beside my ears. "I forgot to buy the drinks!" She then stood up and addressed us, "Shinji-nii, Koneko-chan, I'm gonna go downstairs to buy some drinks! Wait for me here, okay!" Then she took off faster than I could offer to buy those drinks myself.

...

...

...

Yep, leaving me alone with a girl I barely know is definitely one solid proof that Yui isn't good at reading the mood.

I awkwardly ate in silence for several minutes. When I glanced at Toujou, she seemed like she wasn't care, though. She just kept eating and eating non-stop. Hell, I wondered if I was the only one who cared about the awkwardness around here.

"... I'm sorry if this is inconvenience for you, Toujou," I finally said that after considering what should I say for a while. "You see... Yui isn't really good at reading the mood, so she often doesn't realize whether she has troubled other people around her. If you were dragged here against your will, then I can only say I'm sorry," I said apologetically.

Toujou stopped her munching and peered at me, "... I didn't get dragged here against my will or anything," she said with her usual flat tone. She then added, "...Yui is a pushy...and sometimes annoying girl, but I don't hate being with her."

I let out a relaxed sigh after hearing that. "Is that so? I'm so glad," then I immediately added, "umm... if it's okay with you, please continue being her friend from now on, okay?" I let out that small, hopeful wish. Toujou pondered for a second, before silently nodding her head. I smiled inside my heart, then we both continue eating our food in silence.

Surprisingly, Toujou started a conversation a moment after. "... you're not like what I heard, senpai," she said that very quietly, just for me to hear. When I heard that, all the blood inside my body instantly froze over. I turned my face to her, and tried to confirm what I'd just heard.

"Wh...wh...wh-wha-what are you t...t-t-talking about, Toujou?" I stuttered so badly as I asked her. She then confirmed my fear with her flat tone, "I heard you are the new pervert in the school."

...

... _*crack*_

 _..._

Something in my chest went _crack_ when I heard her word. Probably my heart.

I didn't really know what to say anymore. I was rendered utterly speechless when I realized the rumor had already spread even among the first years. The only thing preventing me from crying in despair right then and there was the fact that I had to know one more thing.

"D-d-did Yui know about this?" I asked Toujou. She thought for a while, then shook her head slowly. "I didn't know for sure. But I'm quite sure the rumor has already going strong in our class."

...

...

... And just like that, my pride as a big brother crumbled like dust in the wind.

If it's like that, Yui must've already known about it. But, why would she talk to me normally like back then if that's the case? Was she just pitying me? Or was it possible that she hadn't heard about it yet? Or maybe she had, but refused to believe it was me? And if someone know Yui is my sister, what would happen to her reputation in this school? She already had many friends, and I definitely wouldn't want to make her be shunned just because her brother was known to be a pervert.

I was seriously racking my brain, searching for a good way out until Toujou spoke up, "... maybe you'll get something if you just talk to her, senpai," she gave that piece of advice, still with indifferent tone, and immediately back to munching her sweets. Seriously, this girl sure can eat, can't she?

I didn't have any time to responded to her advice, because Yui suddenly popped up from behind the door with a bag of juices. Then we continue our lunch together until break time was over. Of course, still with Yui dominating the conversation, Toujou being so quiet, and me being confused and unsure of what to do about the rumor.

" _Haa... I guess I'll just try to tell Yui the truth later. I hope she'll believe me."_ With that thought in mind, I walked back to my class as our break time was over.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

Fast forward to after school, I and Yui had agreed to meet in front of the school gate and went home together. Fortunately, I was able to avoid Issei and co. who had asked me to hang out with them after school without much difficulty. So now I was walking side by side with Yui to our home.

On our way, Yui told me about the rest of her days passionately. I just chuckled and went on with her pace for a while, as I was seriously preparing myself to tell Yui about the rumor at that point. Finally, my chance arose when Yui was done with her stories.

I spoke up before she had a chance to start a new story. "Umm... sis," I addressed her with small voice. "You know, I, umm... I really think that maaybeee... we shouldn't be too close to each other when we're in school. Or at least, not in front of public, if you know what I'm saying."

Yui immediately stopped dead in her track. I gulped nervously and casted my face downward, as I wasn't brave enough to meet her face right now. Silence engulfed us for several seconds, before Yui finally spoke, "... is this because that rumor that I heard recently?"

...

...

How can someone that's usually too dense to read the mood for most of the time suddenly become so sharp when it comes to my matter?

"Ah... you really have known about that already?" I smiled hollowly and let out a long huff. But I immediately regained my composure, as I had some important clarification to make. "Just so you know, I DIDN'T do whatever bad things that rumor said. It's just huge misunderstanding," I stated clearly and full of confidence.

"I... I just don't want your friends to shun you if they know your brother is a pervert. So until I can clear my name, I think it's best if we don't let them know about the relation between us."

"They already know," Yui responded almost instantly, which made my face froze. "... Huh?" I asked in fear and disbelief. But Yui just casually started walking again, "I'll explain along the way. Hurry up, Shinji-nii! I still have to prepare our dinner," She told me to come with her usual tone. Hearing that, I could only oblige and follow her.

"My classmates starting to talk about that this morning," Yui started her explanation. "They said the infamous 'perverted trio' had struck again, and this time, they finally manage to recruit a new member. And this new member apparently was a new transfer student," she explained.

"They knew I was a transfer student too, so they immediately asked me about this. I told them the truth, that you're my brother and I was sure all of this rumor was only a mistake. The end."

I was utterly touched, but I also felt guilty at the same time. I had to try my best to form one coherent sentence without shedding my tears "Yui... I-I was... I didn't know..."

"Stop right there!" Yui raised her palm in front of my mouth, making me stopped. "I don't ask for apology. I won't ask for gratitude, either," she stated so seriously. "I only did what I wanted to do. Besides, I knew you wouldn't do something stupid like peeping, nii. Even if you did, I figured you wouldn't get caught that easily, right?" she said jokingly while sticking her tongue out and winked at me.

...

... Damn this overly-cute jailbait little sister! I wanna hug her already!

After calming myself down, I asked one more question in the back of my mind. "So... after you told them that, what happened? What's their reaction?" I asked urgently. Yui just shrugged and said nonchalantly, "well, most of them didn't believe me, of course. But I honestly didn't care about them. They could believe whatever they wanted, and I will believe what I want to. Isn't that what you always say to me, Shinji-nii?" She said again, but immediately added, "and besides, not all of them didn't believe me," she said that and looked at me meaningfully.

It took me a second to realize that I knew the person she was mentioning. "...You mean Toujou?" I asked. She gave me a wide grin and thumbs up. "You know, Koneko-chan seems like she doesn't care about the rumor, too. As a proof, when I asked her to have a lunch with me and my brother, she accepted without much trouble," she said.

Now that I thought about it, I guess it's weird if she had already known about the rumor, and still wanted to have a lunch with me. _"Huh, to think I fail to recognize that"_ , I pondered as I made a mental note to thank Toujou later.

"Now we can go back to the main problem, right?" suddenly Yui's tone change into more serious. "Shinji-nii, what exactly got you into this mess in the first place?" she asked seriously.

So I told her the truth. About my first meeting with Issei behind the dojo, he and his two perverted friends being my classmates, how my reputation in class suffered after they proclaimed me as one of them, and finally the time when I went to back of the dojo to look for my 'wallet' and got dragged into the mess with them.

Yui was genuinely flabbergasted when I finished my story. She then massaged her temple with her fingers and while saying, "... you certainly have one unique trait of attracting troublesome people, don't you, nii?" She sighed after saying that.

" _Like you, for example..."_ I thought, but decided not to say it out loud, as I still needed my dinner. Instead, I said, "hey, don't blame me for it! It's really out of my control!" I protested. "So, what do you think I should do?" I asked Yui.

"Hmm..." she pondered for a second. "I guess the best way is..."

Yui and I then discussed about what I should do to clean my name along the way home. The conclusion was finally reached at the same time we reached our house.

Honestly, my jaw was already on the floor when she's done. Not because the idea itself was exceptionally brilliant or anything like that, though. No, it's actually the other way around. The solution she gave was so frigging simple, yet sounded totally solid that I was kinda ashamed that I didn't even think about it before now.

GAHH, Yui, come here you clever little sister you!

"... and I guess that's about it. Do you... HYAAHH~" Yui let out a cute squeal when I hugged her from behind and raised her from the ground in joy.

"YAYY! YAYY! Finally! I love you, sis! WOOHOO!" I then proceed to swing her up and down or in circle. If this plan went well, I maybe would be able to clean my name and avoid the student council sniping me again. Hah, I was truly overjoyed right now. It was just 'maybe', but hey, one should always be positive, right?

"UWAAHHH~~ Let me down, Shinji-nii! Let me down!" I blatantly ignored Yui who was flailing inside my arm right now. I could see her blushing face, but I couldn't care. I just kept swinging her like a maniac in front of our door. Or at least, until Yui's elbow smacked my jaw and made me dropped like a sack of potatoes.

" _Oh, tomorrow's gonna be my turning point."_

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"""HUUHHH? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"""

Such was the response of the perverted trio when I told them about my plan to regain our dignity. Unfortunately, if you couldn't figure the fact from just the all caps alone, they basically didn't seem to agree with it.

"Did you just told us to go and ask for their forgiveness? NEVER!" Matsuda shouted very loudly that made everyone in the class turned their attention to us. _"Haaahh... these guys really don't know how to be discreet, do they?"_ I grumbled in my mind.

"That's right! Moreover, to promise them we would never peep again, that's impossible... no, unforgiveable! Nobody will ever deny our right to seek the greatest gift that God has given us! In the form of boobs and asses! Oyy... why did you suddenly wanted to do something stupid like this, Shinji?" Issei gave me a long speech that immediately made me want to shove something hot down his throat.

"Is it... because of the student council? As I thought, they really did brainwash you yesterday and made you their pet, didn't they? And now they give you an order to sabotage us? This is unforgiveable, Shinji!" Last but not least, Motohama rambled something completely irrelevant as he pointed at me.

If you still didn't catch my plan even until now, it's actually pretty simple. We would just go to the kendo club, apologized, and promised them we wouldn't do something like that ever again. An ultimate foolproof plan that could be guaranteed 99% successful. Sure, they might not accept our apology immediately, but at least if we could show them we're sincere about apologizing, they might someday forgive us.

But even for something that easy, these three still blatantly refused to do it. And not for good reason, mind you. They just refused because of their stupid pride and stupid obsession for girl's body.

I smacked my forehead pretty hard and sighed at this pointless argument we're currently engaged in. I had to resist an urge to just grab their head and smashed it to the nearest wall, as I knew it wouldn't solve anything. Instead, I breathed and actually managed to explain my reasoning to them without raising my voice even for once.

"Now, look here, guys…" I spoke with the calmest voice I could muster. "You all want to be popular, right?" I asked, which was responded by "OF COURSE!" by all three of them simultaneously.

"Then you gotta change, dude! You do realize what you've done all these times actually makes you **even less** popular, right?" I stated full of confidence.

They flinched and averted their eyes simultaneously after hearing that. "See, you DO realize that, after all!" I concluded in triumph. Then I sighed, "Guys, listen…" I calmly spoke again. "...While I'm aware I'm not the best person to lecture you about being popular, as I've never had a girlfriend and all, I do know that peeping and flaunting your… sexual preferences in front of public won't help you. Hell, if anything, it'll just make any girl in your vicinity feels…how do I say it…inconvenience. Well… I'm sure all of you are already aware of that, though." I explained thoroughly, and successfully made them contemplate in silence.

"Sure, we maybe can't change everybody's opinion about us overnight. But if we could just convince kendo club to forgive us, we maybe will have a chance to clean our name forever. After that, maybe you finally will have a chance to become popular!" I ended my explanation like that.

Silence engulfed us for a second. They thought about what I said so hard to the point I could see it showing on their face. After several seconds of silence discussion between three of them, they finally addressed me.

"… Do you really think this plan will work, Shinji? I mean, I highly doubt they will forgive us that easily after everything we had done to them," Issei voiced his doubt, representing all his friends'. I shared their doubts too, but I had to look confident in order to convince them to go through this.

I plastered my most-confident smirk and said, "don't worry, guys. I got a plan."

"… _that hopefully will work."_ I added inside my heart.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"… Kido-san, may I know on what base you asked us all of this?"

Sona-kaichou glared at me, still with her usual cold and stoic expression. Though this time, I admitted I maybe had pushed my luck a little bit too far.

So long story short, after my conversation with my friends, I immediately dashed to the student council room. I had to meet kaichou as soon as possible to ask her favor about this plan of mine to regain my reputation.

"Because I know you'll definitely be able to convince them to forgive us. So, I humbly ask you to help us here, kaichou!" I bowed down deeply in front of her and every member of student council that was staring at me right now.

Why would I come back to this place and ask her to help us, you might ask? Well… I actually had a clear purpose for this one, so hear me out for a second.

First, I know how much the student council was respected in this school, especially Sona-kaichou and Tsubaki-fuku kaichou. If I managed to get their support on this one, that would be really helping.

Second, the kendo club would be bound to at least listen to us if we got student council as a backup and mediator.

Well...of course I also knew that doing this would basically be the same as admitting my lies in front of the student council. But, I somehow had a feeling that Sona-kaichou and Tsubaki-fuku kaichou was already aware of that. Besides, this matter took the most priority as for now.

Based on these reasons, I finally decided to risk myself to go to this place, bowed my head, and generally humiliating myself by asking a favor to the student council.

I waited for kaichou to ask me to raise my head, but it never came. I didn't know what exactly was happening because I was bowing, but I could feel there's some silent discussion going on.

"And what would you give us in exchange of our support, Kido-san?" Sona-kaichou suddenly asked me a question. I raised my head and answered, "umm… I guess I will owe you a favor then, kaichou. If you help me now, I promised I will repay you somehow."

As I said that, I took a glance of every member in the room, and I just realized now that there's only one boy among 7 girls (including Sona-kaichou and Tsubaki-fuku kaichou). And gosh, are all of them beautiful as heck. Each one of them was cute and beautiful in their own unique way.

I could see Meguri-san, the cute reddish-haired girl I just met yesterday, smiling at me. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Hah, like we can trust the word of a pervert like him! Kaichou, we don't have to help him at all! This guy just wants to use this opportunity to get closer to our members, especially you. I know these perverts' tricks all too well." Suddenly, the only boy in the room (besides me) accused me like that.

This smug-faced guy has short pale blond hair and quite a handsome face with grey eyes. He was looking at me with degrading and judging eyes, like he knew exactly what had happened.

Fortunately, these kinds of provocation were nothing to me. So instead of feeling offended, I decided to play along with his game.

"Wow, to think you actually know all my trick~" I smiled without humor. "You must be either have too much free time, or you're one very experienced pervert as well. After all, it takes one to know one, right?" I said that for all the members to hear.

That arrogant idiot immediately turned red in anger. "WHATT?! YOU TAKE THAT BACK, YOU…"

"Saji…" suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped significantly. Sona-kaichou was glaring dagger at the arrogant idiot. "Behave yourself..." and after she said that, he whimpered and cowered to the corner of the room.

"I apologize for his behavior, Kido-san," kaichou apologized to me. "As for your request, we will assist you in any way we can. After all, it's also our job to help student who seriously want to redeem themselves." Kaichou told me.

But she quickly added before I could express my happiness. "But I would also keep your promise, Kido-san. You owe us one starting today. Just assume it as a token of reminder for this incident," kaichou stated while adjusting her glasses.

I smiled and nodded my head. "Yeah, no problem about that. Thank you kaichou!" I bowed again.

"Now, what would you need us to do?" kaichou asked again, to which I smirked and said, "well, here's the plan..."

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"Thanks for agreeing to this, Meguri-san," I thanked Meguri-san who was walking beside me to the dojo. She responded with a grin, "Hehe... it's okay, Kido-kun. After all, we as fellow student and friend should always help each other, right?"

Hearing her said that actually soothed my mind. _"Wow, are we really friend now?"_ I smiled in my heart. I'm so lucky kaichou chose her as our mediator for today.

"I'm so not agreeing to this though…" one grumbling sound could be heard from behind me.

...

...

... oh, along with the pompous idiot too, I guess.

"Now, now, Saji-kun. This is kaichou's order, you know? And this is partially your fault too for making ruckus back in the room," Meguri-san lightly scolded him, which he responded by more grumbling.

"Yeah, she's right, expert pervert-san. You shouldn't have had made that ruckus back there, expert pervert-san," I added with my own style of joke.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT! I have a name, you prick! It's Saji Genshirou, the proud member of student council! Remember that well!" This Saji guy shouted and pointed at me but couldn't care less. He already lost my respect as soon as he behaved like a jerk back in the student council room.

Just for the catch up, we're... I mean I, the perverted trio (who still looked rather skeptic about this whole plan in general), Meguri-san, and that Saji guy were walking together to the dojo after school was over. Actually, kaichou had suggested me to wait until tomorrow so she could warn the kendo club beforehand. But I told her we had to do it today. In fact, the sooner the better. I just had to clear all this misunderstanding ASAP.

So, kaichou had to picked two of her members to be the student council's representatives. Meguri-san volunteered, and kaichou ordered Saji to come and help me because he had cause me trouble beforehand. Even if both of us couldn't be more disagree, I couldn't just refuse kaichou's offer, and Saji was pretty much kaichou's obedient dog, so in the end we (albeit forced) agreed to help each other just this time only.

We all eventually arrived at the dojo. Though all the kendo club immediately put up their guard when they see me and the perverted trio (who had been uncharacteristically quiet all this time), Meguri-san and Saji somehow managed to appease them to lower their weapons and talk (it's definitely a good choice to brought them here) I then calmly stated our purpose for coming here.

"KYAAHHH~ NOOO!" Such was those girls' response at my genuine attempt to apologize. Although it stung (so much!), I forced myself to be strong and did the appropriate follow-up.

"Okay, we know we have caused you a lot of trouble and inconvenience," I said. "But now we really want to apologize and promise we won't do it again. Please reconsider this. We promise we will do anything to pay for the trouble we have caused," I said as I bowed.

The kendo girls had a silent discussion between themselves for a while, before one of them decided to speak. "Even if you said that, why are you the only one apologizing here? I mean, you just peeped at us one time, but **those guys**..." she spoke that last few words in utter disgust. "They had done that so many times, and why didn't I see any of their attempt to apologize at us?"

I turned my face to see who she had been speaking about. And of course, it was my fellow criminal-in-charge, the perverted trio. They had been standing very still during our conversation, didn't let out even a smallest sound and with their faces casted downwards so I couldn't see their expression very well.

Seeing that, I hastily approached them in annoyance. "Dude, the hell's wrong with you guys? C'mon man! I need your cooperation if we want this to succeed," I urged.

They gave me silent contempt. I sighed in frustration and just about to shake their mind out of the trance when they simultaneously grabbed my shoulder first.

"I'm sorry, dude…" Issei spoke in small, almost unrecognizable voice. "… but we just CAN'T DO IT AFTER ALL!" Suddenly he roared so loudly I had to cover my ears to avoid deafness.

""HELL YEAH! You tell them, Issei!"" Matsuda and Motohama immediately followed enthusiastically, which worsen the situation even further.

"SHINJI, listen to me! Female body is created for a reason!" Somehow Issei started lecturing me, which vexed me even more. "Those boobs! Those asses! Those greatest gifts the God Himself has given us have to be savored by us, men! There's no way we could just neglect it when we knew those boobs and asses were on full display in the changing room! NO, even if we know doing this will not make us popular, we can't just ignore them! Besides, there's no way I could become a harem king if I can't admire female's body, am I right?" Issei ended his useless speech and his friends immediately cheered for him.

I could only sigh in defeat when I realized all the kendo club who had been listening to their dumb babble inched away from us in utter disgust and contempt. Some of them actually retorted, though. And soon, our about-to-be discussion turned into childish second-grader bickering.

"It... doesn't really go as planned, isn't it?" Meguri-san whispered to me, while continue looking at the catastrophe in front of us. "What are you gonna do now, Kido-kun?" She asked me the million-dollar question.

Naturally, I answered simply with, "I'm going home," then hauled my exhausted body away from that place before my headache got even worse.

"Hmm... I guess then you ca... Heh? What did you just say?" Meguri-san slipped in disbelief. I was too tired to respond her, so I kept my silence and walked away. The only thing I wanted to do now was to go home and hit the bed.

... and to forget any of this bullshit ever happened. Yep, that's also important.

"Wa...wait-wait-WAIT!" Meguri-san suddenly appeared in front of my way, with her arms spread open. "You're just gonna leave like that? Without any other word?" She asked with her voice slightly louder.

"Oh yeah, I forgot..." I responded in totally zombie-like voice. "Thank you for your help, Meguri-san. Really appreciate it. Please be careful on your way home," I spoke while bowing slightly.

"Oh yeah, your welc... NOT!" She retorted loudly. "Why did you suddenly want to leave?! And why are you thanking me like the matter has been solved?! It hasn't even started yet! We can't just leave them quarrelling like that, you dummy!" She then started rambling exactly like Yui when she's angry at me.

God, this girl seriously shared too much similarities with Yui it made my head spin.

"...What do you think we can do now, Meguri-san?" I asked with my signature zombie-like voice and dead-fish gaze. "Now that my friends had completely rejected my plan, and even pulled out that stupid speech for crying out loud, there's no way I could convince them to apologize anymore. And it's not like I can apologize to the kendo club by myself. So, the best course of action now is to go home, sleep, and forget any of this ever happened," I explained blankly.

"Oh, and I'm sorry for using up your time for something useless like this, Meguri-san. Please tell kaichou that I'm sorry for keep bothering her for these past few days too," I added, still without emotion. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"No, wait! You can't just give up like..."

...

...

"Do I come on a bad time?"

Everybody in the area froze after hearing that voice. The bickering group suddenly went silence, Saji (who I completely forgot was there) stopped trying to calm them down, Meguri-san suddenly stopped pulling my sleeve, and so I bound to turn my face to the source of the voice.

There was a male student standing there, smiling confusedly at what happened. He has quite a handsome face and somewhat calming expression. Besides that, he also has short blond hair, soothing blue eyes, and after squinting my eyes I could tell he also has a mole underneath his left eye.

"KYYAAHHHH~~ Kiba-kun!" Suddenly, like well-coordinated combat machines, the kendo girls rushed to that guy like a big wave, leaving the trio alone. The trio immediately cursed that guy like grade-schoolers, something like 'Die, you handsome!' or 'Popular guy should just go extinct!'

I inched closer to Meguri-san, who had been grabbing my sleeve ever since that guy's arrival. "Who's that, Meguri-san?" I asked one short question.

"Oh, that's Kiba Yuuto, second year just like us. He's currently the most popular boys in this school, and everyone calls him 'prince of Kuoh Academy' or something like that. She also had many fans club, if I remember correctly" She explained. I could only nod my head as response.

"What's the problem here, ladies? Why were you all gathering out here?" That Kiba guy asked with genuine concerned voice, which somehow made the girls squealed in joy even more.

"It's them, Kiba-kun! Those perverts came causing trouble here!" One of the girls shouted while pointing at Issei and co. (me included) I could only sigh at that. Great, she reported us to their knight in shining armor. I wondered what will happen next?

He looked back and forth between the perverted trio who had been booing him ever since he came around, and me who just standing around doing nothing. He then approached me with a bright smile on his face.

... Somehow though, this guy's smile seemed so...wrong, to me.

"Good evening, Meguri-san," he then greeted Meguri-san who had been standing beside me. "And... is this the new transfer student that I've heard so much about?" He gestured toward me. Meguri-san greeted him back and introduced us. "Oh, yeah, you're right! This is Kido Shinji-san, the new transfer student," she cheerfully gestured to me.

"I'm Kiba Yuuto, second year. Pleased to meet you, Kido-kun," He offered me his hand while smiling. I wasn't sure whether I could shake his hand, though. Not because I thought myself too highly or anything, but because as soon as he offered me his hand, every last one of the kendo girls suddenly screaming in protest.

"Noo... you can't shake his hand, Kiba-kun~ He'll infect you!"

"Stay away from Kiba-kun, you pervert!"

"Please stay away from him, Kiba-kun~ He's not worthy of being around you!"

... and more things along these lines.

While my heart was still sore after those cruel remarks, I don't see any reason to disrespect him. After all, it's not like he got any bad intention or some sort, so I shook his hand, which inevitably leading to even harder screams from the girls (heck, there were even some who passed out on the spot) and introduced myself.

"I'm Kido Shinji, second year. And if I may know, what're you doing here? You're not member of this club, aren't you?" I asked, to which he smiled weakly. "Not really, no..." he answered weakly, like he had actually dragged here by these piranhas (/girls). "I'm here to help with the club. Sometimes, I do some favor for girls that asked for my help with their club activities, and today is kendo club's turn."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You're actually helping around the clubs just because you were 'asked'?" I said in confusion. He responded me with weak smile again. "Ahh... it's not every day, though. I still have my own club to attend to soo..." he stopped, maybe hoping I'd caught his meaning. And yeah, I kinda did.

Handsome face along with gentleman attitude. I guess it came as no surprise that this guy is the most popular guy in the school. Moreover, he's also friendly (even to the infamous pervert like me) and helpful. If this guy actually wanted to, I guess he would be the closest one to become a harem king in this school. There's no way Issei, Matsuda, or Motohama could ever compete with this guy in term of popularity.

"OH YEAH!" Suddenly, Meguri-san shouted so loudly, instantly shifting our attention to her. "I know how we can settle this dispute!" She said that while looking back and forth between me and the kendo club. From her grin, that somehow sent chill down my spine, I immediately knew whatever she gonna say next, I wouldn't like it.

"We can settle this with a duel!"

...

... Oh God, what did I get myself into?

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"..."

"Kido-kun..."

"..."

"Umm... Kido-kun, do you hear me?"

"..."

"Uuu... you're still angry, aren't you?"

"... Well, I guess now you have given me a chance to make them forgive me and forget everything about this whole debacle, I can't be THAT mad at you," I grumbled in annoyance. "But seriously, Meguri-san, WHAT THE SWIVEL WERE YOU THINKING?" I half-shouted at her, who was still trying to strap my kendo gear in place.

"Hey, at least you got your chance, dude! Stop being such a wimp and blaming your misfortune on others, would you?" Saji who was also helping me suddenly retorted harshly. I could only sigh in annoyance at that. As far as I was irritated by his remark, I could tell he's right.

Right now, all of us were inside the dojo, and I was dressed in full kendo gear from head to toe. When Meguri-san suggested duel, she also set the condition that the loser had to obey whatever the winner told them to do, and that condition would be fully approved by the student council itself.

"Hah! Serves you right, you pervert! There's no way you can win against Kiba-kun! Just wait and see, if we win, we'll make you and your friends our slaves for the rest of your time here!" One of the kendo girls stated that while pointing to my face, and soon followed by the others.

... Just my third day in school and I was already threatened to spend the rest of it as a slave. Just my luck.

"Hey hey, why don't we told them to show us their boobs if they lose? That would be totally epic!"

"Oohhh... what about if we win, they all can become our girlfriend all at once, so we can finally have our own harem!"

"Or better yet, we should make them our slaves. So they can't defy us and will do anything we demand, even if... uhe...uheehehehe..."

" _Focus on the match, Shinji! Ignore those obnoxious voices... ignore... IGNORE!"_ I shouted in my own mind to calm and free myself from outside nuisance, that being the dumbass trio. Instead, I tried to focus on my opponent.

Kiba seemed so relaxed, with all his gears already on. There's _shinai_ laying beside him, ready to be used. All the kendo girls were looking at him in awe and excitement while squealing continuously. His overall posture showed me that it's not his first time doing kendo, which basically mean he had more experience than me.

"Just for reference, Meguri-san..." I addressed her while she's busy tying my chest guard strap. "Is he strong?" I pointed at Kiba and asked, and suddenly her expression turned... complicated.

"Umm... ah, I actually don't really know," she said nervously while scratching her hair and averted her gaze immediately, indicating that she lied. "...but I think you could beat him, Kido-san... probably," she smiled awkwardly at me, which effectively got me even more nervous.

"I really want to hear your base of saying that..." I sighed and added, "You know, I've never done kendo in my life. The only time I ever hold a _shinai_ was only for self-training, and the last time I did that was around a year ago. If that Kiba guy is a good kendo, then I'm as good as toast!" I said in frustration.

"Heh?" Outside my expectation, she tilted her head in confusion at me. "...Are you serious?" she asked in small voice, to which I only nodded. "Hmm..." she then peered at me for a while before suddenly shouted, "HEEHH... YOU'RE TELLING THE TRUTH?!"

Again, everybody's attention shifted to us. "Wh... wh-wh-what should we do? What should we do, Kido-san?" I didn't know why exactly, but Meguri-san suddenly started panicking. I had to grab her shoulder to calm her down.

"Wow, easy there, Meguri-san! What's wrong with you?" I tried to calm her down. After a while, her breath went back to normal pace, and then she addressed me, "sorry, Kido-kun... I picked this method because I thought you at least already have an experience in martial arts. I'm so sorry!" while bowing deeply at me, which was kinda startling.

I looked at her for a while before saying, "It's okay. What's done is done, I guess. But why did you think I have any experience with martial arts, Meguri-san?" I asked.

She looked hesitating for a second, before decided to say, "umm... I'm not sure, really. It's just... I have a gut feeling that says you're not really unfamiliar with sword, Kido-kun.

...

... _Ba-dum_

This time, I was the one who averted my eyes. "...maybe long time ago," I answered shortly, cutting her attempt to ask further question. Soon, she finished tying the last knot in my armor. With that ready, I step forward into the arena.

"Sorry for involving you into this fight, dude," I apologized to Kiba when we were already in the arena. To my apology, he just smiled weakly, "it's okay. I already promise these girls to help, after all. Besides..." he stopped for a second, then added, "... I think it's a good opportunity to determine your capability, Kido-kun. So sorry, but I have to do this quiet seriously this time."

...

... wait, what did he mean by 'determine my capability?'

"Alright, to avoid unfairness, I'll be the judge of this duel." Saji stepped up. "The rule is simple. Anyone who manage to land a hit on his opponent body gain a point, and you win if you can score 2 points before your opponent. Is that clear?" He stated. I and Kiba nodded together, then we both stood straight to face each other.

"Do your best, Kiba-kun~"

"Don't lose to that pervert!"

"Please be safe, Kiba-kun!"

"Kyaahh~ Kiba-kun, you're my prince!"

"Kiba-kun, fightt~~"

From the start, the cheers already came for Kiba from his fanatic fangirls. As for me...

"Beat him senseless, Shinji!"

"Show him what we, unpopular boys are capable of!"

"Die, you handsome!"

I got three perverts cheering me up. Haaah... what an unfair world.

"Do your best, Kido-kun!" Suddenly, I could hear Meguri-san voice among the cheers. Not wanting to disappoint her, I gripped my shinai and took my stance in confidence.

"Alright, contestant in position. Now... wait, what the hell are you doing, Kido?" Saji abruptly stopped to retort me. I was just about to ask what's wrong, when suddenly every girl in the kendo club laughed very loudly.

"HAHAHA... what is he doing?"

"What kind of stance is that?"

"Does he even know kendo?"

"AHAHAHA... ouch, my stomach!"

I could hear some girls said that in amidst of their laughter. I could also hear my friends face-palming behind me. I glanced to Meguri-san, and she hastily signaled me to look downward.

So I did, and I recognized the problem immediately.

Apparently, because of stupid habit of mine, I didn't end up standing in the correct stance like Kiba; with body straight, both feet parallel on the ground, and sword's point raised with two hands gripping the hilt. Instead, my stance took the word 'meta' to the new level.

My body leaned forward with my left foot far in front of my right. Also, instead of handling the sword with both hands, I only used my right hand to hold my sword loosely, and I positioned my left shoulder, along with my left arm firmly in front my body, like I was holding something in front of me.

... Curse this frigging habit.

"Quit fooling around, you idiot! We can't start like this!" Saji urged me, and I could only hope I didn't blush in embarrassment that much as I assumed the same stance as Kiba.

And that's when I notice Kiba was looking at me weirdly.

He didn't laugh, smirk, or look at me pitifully like the kendo girls do. He didn't get embarrassed of my action like my friends and Meguri-san do. He also didn't get angry and be annoyed like Saji do. Instead, he looked... no, he observed me like I just did something that truly fascinating for him. It's like... he took my stance just now seriously.

His staple laid-back smile had completely gone, replaced by one serious expression I'd never imagined would seeing from a friendly guy like him.

"Now that both contestant ready..." Saji's voice snapped me out of my trance. "I will start now." He then put his hand between us. **"Ready... GO!"**

As soon as the match began, Kiba ran toward me. _"Ohh... he's quite fast!"_ I thought to myself as I prepared myself for his assault. After closing enough gap between us, Kiba immediately swung his sword onto my head in a downward swing. I side-stepped to the right to dodge the incoming attack, and he inched back and assumed his normal stance.

Our eyes were locked together for several seconds, before Kiba decided to attack again. He used his natural speed to close the gap between us in a second, and this time he bent his body forward and thrusted his weapon to my face. Instinctively...

... well, this time, my instinct disappointed me.

I could have just avoided his thrust by simple side-step, but nooo... my instinct had to do something unnecessary. Seeing his sword's tip came onto my face fast, instead of dodging it, I used my left hand to parry his sword's thrust and slapped it aside. My tactic succeeded, and that temporary left him unguarded for a second. I didn't waste my time and immediately swung my sword diagonally upright toward him...

"KOTE! Point for Kiba!" Saji shouted, and immediately followed by big cheers by the kendo girls.

I could only be stunned in place, unable to comprehend what just happened until Meguri-san shouted at me from outside the arena. "KIDO-KUN! YOU CAN'T USE YOUR HAND TO DEFLECT THE STRIKE IN KENDO! THAT'LL GIVE YOUR OPPONENT THE POINT!"

" _Thanks for the late reminder, Meguri-san!"_ I grumbled in my heart. I rubbed my left wrist, checking if there's any pain. Fortunately, I felt no injuries. I slapped both my cheeks to cheer myself up. _"Okay, just stop using your left hand to block, Shinji! This is Kendo, not a free battle! Start learning the rules!"_ I scolded myself.

Before the round started, I got a chance to analyze what just happened on the first round and managed to pull 3 conclusions about my opponent.

First; this guy was not an amateur in Kendo. He knew his movement very well, and overall seemed to know what he's doing. Very different from me, who mistook my first stance and used my hand to block the sword.

Second; his speed was his main weapon. His frontal swift attack at the beginning of the match ultimately proofed it. Person with speed always set his eyes on the first hit, and always tried to use continuous attack to catch his opponent unguarded, that's what I'd learned.

Third; he's actually not that strong. When I rubbed my left wrist where I was exactly hit, I didn't feel any pain, even the slightest. So I could conclude he actually didn't have that much power within him, and therefore had to rely fully on his speed. Well... either that, or he just held back a lot when he attacked me that time. But I guess I could still exploit this somehow.

"Are you both ready?" Again, Saji's snapped me up. He then got ready to give the signal. **"Ready... GO!"**

I immediately put up my guard, assuming he would immediately charge at me again. But surprisingly, he didn't do it like last time. Instead, he held his position, as if waiting for me to attack him.

" _Weird..."_ I thought. If he's really a speed type like what I'd just guessed, there's no way he would just stand still waiting for me like that. People who rely on speed usually use their advantage to get the first strike, or at least keep moving swiftly to confuse their opponent. Or at least... that's what I can conclude from my fight against 'him'

So it's either bluff, or he still got something up his sleeve.

I moved step-by-step toward him. He still didn't move, as if provocating me. When we were close enough, I decided to open my assault.

I swung my _shinai_ downward to see how he would react. He blocked it with his _shinai_ , then I continued to swing my sword multiple times toward his head. He still didn't let down his block until my fourth strike, when he parried my sword to the side and swiftly went for my head.

I side-stepped just before his sword hit my helmet and managed to gain a little distance between us. The crowds cheered at that close call, and Kiba decided to use this opportunity to charge at me. He released a couple of swings and thrusts, but fortunately I could anticipate all of them. He didn't stop and kept attacking me relentlessly, forced me into defensive and gave me no room to make any counter attack.

" _This guy is seriously strong, dammit!"_ I cursed in amidst of being assaulted by multiple sword strikes. This guy is really not just 'not an amateur' level, he's full-blown pro! His posture while standing, his fierceness in attacking, and his calm way to study and judge his opponent, all indicating that he was very used to do this. Hell, I could bet you all my money that he's no stranger to sword fight in general, even!

But fortunately, I could point out one of his weakness. _"His movement and attack pattern_ _somehow really resemble Ren..."_ I thought as I dodge one more incoming strike to the head. And while it might be didn't sound like an advantage to you, I had to tell you that I had fought him dozens of time. I knew his attack pattern and strategy all too well. _"And if I'm right, he should be vulnerable at... this!"_

I kept blocking and parrying until Kiba switched his stance to thrust me with his sword. I side-stepped lightly and managed to get out of his attack zone. While he's still unbalanced after that failed strike, I took that chance and swipe his side with my sword.

 _*THWACCKKK*_

 _..._

 _..._

Silence engulfed the room for several seconds. I just guessed I had done something wrong again Saji announced with loud voice, "DO! Point for Kido!"

" **HELL YEAH! WOOHOOO..."** Suddenly, Issei cheered really loud, immediately followed by Matsuda and Motohama. Some of the kendo girls booed and glared at me in anger for hitting their prince, and some others even immediately rushed into the arena to check on him (even if he looks very fine to me)

"YATTAAA... Kido-kun, you did it!" Meguri-san hopped in joy. Her twin tail swayed up and down in excitement. _"Seriously... they all know it's still not done yet, right?"_ I chuckled slightly at my friends' antics. But now, I felt I really had a hope to defeat him, even if it's only a little. I breathed in and out to calm myself, then went back to the middle of the arena to prepare for our last round.

"You're good, Kido-san. Even better than what I'd originally hoped," Kiba suddenly let out one genuine praise for me.

"Thanks, you too. So much for 'only helping' in kendo club, huh?" I said half-jokingly at him. He chuckled, then added something with small voice I could barely recognize.

"...Then, I guess I can be a little bit more serious."

...

... Huh?

 _*ZOOOMM~*_

Suddenly, a wave of... how do I even describe this? Fear? Terror? Malice? Or all of the above?

... Anyway, after Kiba muttered something incoherently, I could feel something wrong happened. The temperature in the room slightly dropped, there's some kind of pressure choked me and threatened to force me down to the ground, my whole body trembled, and I could also feel I was sweating bullets. It took all of my will power to keep standing here, and not fell on my knees whimpering.

"WAITTT! KIBA-KUN!"

"OYYY... THIS IS TOO FAR, KIBA!"

Somehow, I could hear Meguri-san and Saji's voice shouting in alarm amidst this intense pressure that made my ears rang mercilessly. How could they still shout like that amidst this bizarre feeling, I didn't know. I tried to open my eyes to confirm what was happening, but I knew this heavy nausea would make me hurl if I did that, so I regressed.

As abruptly as it came, the bizarre feeling suddenly subsided. The world's back to its normal color, and that intense pressure I felt pressing on my body disappear. My body swayed a little, and just about to fell over when somebody caught and supported me.

"Kido-kun, are you okay?" Meguri-san asked in pure concern while supporting my whole body. I could also see Saji came closer to us, maybe wanted to check my condition. Didn't want to look weak in front of the student council duo, I forced myself to get up.

"I'm okay, guys," I said with weak smile when I finally managed to stand up straight. "Just got a little... light-headed, that's all." But even when I said that, I knew it wasn't just that. That feeling was so sudden, there's no way it could be just simple nausea. "Just for a record... did both of you felt anything... off, just now?" I asked them.

The student council duo glanced at each other in alarm when I asked that. "Uumm...so-sorry, we didn't feel anything," Meguri-san stated, but at the same time averted her eyes from mine. Saji did too, and that honestly made me suspicious, but I couldn't linger too much in this. I got a fight to win.

"Dude, you okay?" New sound resounding in my ears. I looked back and see Issei, Matsuda, and Motohama came to me with concerned expression. Looking at their worried expression, I couldn't help but feeling a little guilty. They had put their fate on the line here because of my selfishness. I wasn't gonna fail now.

I slapped both my cheeks hardly, startling them for a second, before spoke with the most confident voice I could muster. "It's cool, guys! Just got a little dizzy. Don't worry, I could still fight," I smiled at them, then glanced at Saji who had been standing near us. "Continue the duel, dude. I'm okay," I told him seriously.

He looked hesitant for a second, before finally scratched his hair in frustration, "Arghh... okay, okay! But don't blame me if you hurt yourself in the process, okay?" He pointed at my face, then ran back to his position as the judge of the duel.

Meguri-san and the others also went back to their position, and once again left me alone in the arena with Kiba. "Sorry about that delay again, dude," I genuinely apologize to him. "I don't know what had gotten into me. It just suddenly happened," I stated the truth, no matter how fake it sounded. I expected him to at least be annoyed at me, but his reaction honestly surprised me.

"Alright, sorry for the delay. Now we can start again," Saji shouted for all of us to hear. He then raised his hand to give the starter signal.

He smiled apologetically. "It's okay. I should be the one who apologized about that," he stated and bowed slightly at me. "Beside..."

 **"Both contestant, Ready..."**

"...I still have to apologize about this later."

 **"GO!"**

 _*WHUSSHHH*_

As soon as the round started, Kiba disappeared from his place. No, I'm serious about this! He suddenly just vanished as if he was an air!

... And suddenly appeared on my left.

"HUAHH..." I wouldn't lie, I seriously yelled in surprised when Kiba suddenly teleported to my left with his sword ready to be swung. I instinctively jumped to the right and turned my body to the left to meet his swing.

 _*TRUUAANGGG...*_

I managed to block his sword swing, but somehow the force flung me backwards more than 3 meters. I landed on my knees, and my hands were completely staggered after receiving his blow. Before I could even comprehend what was happening in the first place, Kiba already leaped in front of me again, this time with his sword raised up into the air.

... Somehow, I got an ominous feeling that if this strike hit me, my life would end, literally.

In desperation, I rolled sideways to avoid his downward swing. Then, I leaped backward to gain some distance between us for me to catch my breath. I assumed my correct stance again while panting like crazy.

" _What the hell was that?"_ I thought in the middle of my heavy breath. _"That was not human's movement. Human doesn't teleport, dammit!"_ I gritted my teeth so hard in frustration. I already guessed speed was his strong point, but that movements just now were INSANE! He practically just moved so fast it seemed like he disappeared, for swivel sake!

" _Is this my mind playing tricks on me again?"_ I shook my head, trying to determine whether his impossible speed just now was just a hallucination because of the earlier headache. I looked at all the audience to make sure whether they saw the same absurdity I just witnessed.

They all seemed normal. The kendo girls were looking at Kiba in awe and admiration as always. My friends, Issei and co., still cheered at me even if I clearly was on the losing side here. None of them looked surprise; as if they hadn't just seen Kiba moving with the speed of light.

... It didn't seem to be the case with two people, though.

When my gaze fell on Saji and Meguri-san, I immediately realized something's off. They looked like they were trying to look as normal as possible, but somehow, I could tell that they're just pretending. Moreover, they just kept sending me those worried gazes once in a while, making it harder not to notice it. But if they really notice there's something off too, why didn't they tell me?

Also, it was Kiba who had been blinking all over the place like frigging M*gina here! Why the hell were you sending those worried gazes for me? Stop him, for swivel sake!

"Are you done preparing, Kido-kun?" Those low, piercing voice instantly freaked the hell out of me. I once again faced my opponent, who now somehow had gained an ability to blink and now was gazing as me with a small smile which contained no feeling at all.

I tried to raise my voice, but it just didn't come out. My body trembled, but somehow this time, I realized it's not because of fear. An oddly familiar sensation that I had been trying to forget all these times was seeping back to my mind once again.

... The trill of a death match.

Kiba's attacks from the start of this round wasn't just fast. It's also full of killing intent that still made me flinch even now when he's not attacking me. Very real and menacing killing intent; just like those people's who had tried to kill me every time we clashed. In fact, it's partially because of his leaking bloodlust that I was able to detect and anticipate his first strike, even before my eyes managed to capture his lightning-fast movement.

I steadied my breath and my posture. Even though I still wasn't really sure what was going on, I did aware of one thing. This duel had become inevitable, and I had to win this in order to find out what happened. Besides, Kiba's gesture already told me that he wouldn't accept any form of surrender, so with that in mind, I gripped my sword harder and faced him with determined gaze.

" _Those who don't fight won't survive,"_ I recited that catchphrase in the back of my mind. After that, I took an initiative and charged at him first.

"Hmm... bold move, Kido-kun," Kiba still had free time to comment me before I closed in and swiped at him. He blocked my sword and moved a little backward to create some space, but this time I didn't give him any chance. I quickly close the gap between us again and stroke him a few times, but he predicted and dodged all of them by a big margin.

Finally, I was the one who was forced to move back from him after realizing this tactic wouldn't work. I gasped for air for a few seconds, trying to figure out his attack and defense pattern. Then, hopefully I would be able to formulate a plan to defeat him.

 _*WHUSSHHH*_

" _Shit, again?!"_ I cursed when he suddenly disappeared again. I immediately put up my guard, and right on time when he appeared in front of me and slammed his sword onto me. I parried his sword to the side, and in one movement, bent my knees and thrusted forward using my knees like a fully-pressed spring, straight to his chest area.

I caught a glimpse of his smile, and he smoothly side-stepped to my left to avoid the thrust. Unfortunately, that thrusting move left me wide open, similar to what it did to Kiba in the second round. I cursed my own stupidity, as I could only witness in slow motion as Kiba stood beside me, ready to bring down his sword onto my side, the same way I beat him before.

" _ARGHH... God dammit! SCREW IT ALL!"_ Refusing to lose just like that, I did one desperate move to save myself. Since I was in the middle of (failed) charging and couldn't turn my body by myself, I thrusted my _shinai_ to the ground beneath me to act as a foothold, then somehow managed to spin my body to the left, and again, used my left hand to swat away his weapon. Then, I moved my sword, which was my only foothold at the moment, and swung it as hard as I could to his abdomen area.

 _*THWAACKKK*_

 _*BRUAAKKK*_

As I already lost my foothold and was in the middle of a charge, I hit the ground with my head first and slid a few meters before stopping. And maybe because I hit my head, I suddenly felt an extreme case of nausea washed over me. Before I blacked out completely, I could faintly hear one voice said, "wow, you actually did..." and then passed out before the sentence finished.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

...

 _"...Do-kun!"_

...

 _"Dude, wake..."_

...

 **"OYYY! WAKE UP, KIDO!"**

"HUAAHHH... THE HELL?!"

I woke up startled when somebody grab my collar and shouted very loudly beside my ear. I automatically plug my ear and barked to whoever did that in the first place. "Hoyy... Who the hell screamed to my ears just now?"

"Me..." Saji admitted with ease without any guilt showing on his face. "You didn't respond when we tried to wake you up normal style. So I had to resort to extreme way," He said nonchalantly; like he didn't give a damn even if he almost made me deaf. I was just about to protest at him and his cheeky attitude, when I slowly realized the condition I was in.

I was lying on the floor and was surrounded by my friends. All of them had the same worried expression on their face. I rubbed the back of my head to make sure it's okay, then asked one question that pretty much summed up everything that was going on inside my mind. "Umm... what happened?"

Meguri-san glanced at Saji, who just shrugged. She then looked at me, "Umm... how much did you remember about that, Kido-kun?" and asked that question. I tried to remember, and after a while, "Oh yeah, the kendo match stuff..." I blurted the first thing that came into my mind. "...who won?" I asked while staring at my surrounding.

Surprisingly, Issei was the one who answered me enthusiastically. "YOU, dude! You forgot about that?" He said with wide grin. "Yeah! You look so cool back then! Swinging your sword like this, and that!" Matsuda and Motohama added with exaggerated gestures.

"And in the end, you fly like thiss..." Issei mimicked my falling moment, "...strike like that, and BAM! You beat that damn handsome with ease!" Issei finished their explanation with style.

Seeing them happy like that, I normally should be happy too. But this time I didn't. Somehow, I felt like I was forgetting something important. Like there are some important details just got removed from my memory.

"Ummm... guys?" I addressed the trio, who were dancing in joy energetically. "This is maybe a weird question, but did something... weird happened at the duel?"

My question got their attention. They looked at each other curiously before asking, "Weird? Like, what weird?" They asked together, to which I answered. "You know, weird like..."

...

...

...

" _Heh...? Like what is it again?"_ I wondered, seemingly forgetting something important. I scratched my head in confusion, and that was when my opponent came to me.

"That was a good fight, Kido-kun," Kiba walked to me with refreshing smile on his face. "I really enjoyed that. You really are a good swordsman!" He offered his hand. I took it and he pulled me up. "You too, dude. I guess we can say it was a close fight..."

...

...

" _Heh, was it? Now I think about it, how exactly did I win that last game?"_ I oddly forgot anything about that. I intended to ask the detail about that to Kiba, but suddenly Saji called for us. "Hey... Kiba! Kido! Come here quick, both of you!"

We complied and came to the middle of the arena. There, I just realized that the atmosphere on the kendo girls' side was very gloomy. Most of them just stood there in silence, like a criminal that just about to be sent to the guillotine. Some of the them were staring at me with mixed feelings. Some stared in anger, some in sadness, but the weirdest thing is, some them were actually staring at me in...fear(?)

"Ehemm... so, I would like to announce the winner of this battle. It is Kido Shinji, the representatives of... his group!" As soon as that announced, Issei, Matsuda, and Motohama were the only three cheered in utter joy. The kendo girls were still silence like we're attending a funeral, and Meguri-san only did a small clap while smiling weakly at me. Saji then turned his attention to me, "Now... as per agreement, you may ask anything to the loser's side."

"HELL YEAH! Now it's the time to build our own harem!" Issei shouted

"Boobs and asses! Here I come!" Matsuda yelled.

"Finally, my dream to have my own slave can be realized, hehehe..." Motohama fixed his glasses and laughed creepily.

Looking at these three's behavior, all those girls inched away in disgust, but now there's a hint of helplessness in their eyes because they knew they couldn't do anything about it. Hell, even Meguri-san couldn't help but being visibly annoyed by their behavior.

... These three really don't know how to read the mood, do they?

"Before you make your decision, may I ask one thing to you, Kido-san?" Kiba suddenly asked with with serious gaze. "If you're kind enough, please let me take whatever punishment you want to give to them. After all, it was me who lost this match," Kiba bowed deeply at me as he said that.

 **"""Hell No! Go to hell, you handsome prince!"""**

The trio shouted simultaneously, and this time the kendo girls couldn't do anything about it. But for this matter, I actually had already made my decision. No... I guess it's more suitable to say that my wish hadn't changed from before.

"I got it," I stated to Saji. The trio cheered again and stared at me full of hope. On the other hand, the girls looked like they had signed their own death warrant, and now was waiting for the execution.

I walked closer to them, and as soon as I was close enough, I bowed completely 90 degrees in front of them. "PLEASE ACCEPT OUR APOLOGY NOW!" I shouted loud and clear for everybody in the room to hear. Then I added hurriedly, "oh...and please forget every bad deed we... I mean **they** , have ever done, will you?"

Pretty much everyone looked at me like I just came falling from the sky. Every girl in front of me stared at me in surprise and disbelief, and the perverted trio... oh boy, would I not forget how funny their expressions were.

I then stood up straight again, "Umm...well, you see..." I tried to explain."...My intention for coming here was to apologize in the first place, and that still didn't change even after that battle, soo..." I awkwardly asked, "...do we get your forgiveness, or what?"

Some of the girls that managed to recover from the shock glanced at each other weirdly, like they still couldn't believe I'd just said that. But after a while, they finally nodded together.

"Fiuhh... finally. How's that, guys?" I turned to the student council's representatives. Saji then just shrugged. "Well...I guess that's..."

"APPROVED! Good job, Kido-kun!" Meguri-san ended his line abruptly while smiling and gave me thumbs up. All the kendo girls finally could breathe a sigh of relief, some of them even cheered in relief and fell on their knees. Kiba approached me and gave me his gratitude. Meguri-san gave me pat on the back and praised me again, and even if he still looked nonchalant, Saji actually came to tell me that I did okay. I guess this was what you call 'happily ever after' ending.

I stretched my body. _"Haah...finally we're done. Now I can go home and..."_

"THE HELL YOU JUST DID, SHINJII...!" triplet angry voices could be heard.

...

... Shit, I forgot about them

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"Haha... that was quite bad, wasn't it?"

"...Let's not talk about that anymore. I've had enough of headache-inducing problems for one day."

I grumbled to Kiba who showed his sympathetic smile at me while we were walking together. We had done helping the kendo club cleaned up the dojo, and after that, Kiba asked me whether he could walk with me until the school gate. I agreed immediately, as now I didn't have anyone who could keep me company.

... Oh, and that's because my supposed 'friends' ditched me in anger and went home first.

Here's the recap. After my wish was approved by student council, the perverted trio immediately went ballistic. Basically, they grabbed my collar, and proceed to call me traitor, unfaithful and disappointing friend, and something more along those lines. I stayed silent during their outburst, and soon after, they all just left, even before giving me a chance to explain anything.

It's not like I was mad or disappointed, though. I knew the exact consequences of doing that and thus, I didn't regret my decision at all. After all, being popular or loved by doing that kind of thing certainly wouldn't sit right for me.

After that drama, Kiba offered to help the kendo club with the cleaning up. As I wasn't in hurry to leave (and because I didn't want to accidentally bump into Issei and co. on the way), I offered to help too. Unfortunately, Saji and Meguri-san had to leave early to report this matter to kaichou, so they bid us goodbye and left soon after.

We walked in silence for a few seconds. The sky was already quite dark when we finished with the cleanup, and it's already got even darker now. I wondered if Yui's already at home, and whether she's fine there. I could only hope there wouldn't be anything bad happening to her like two days ago.

"I guess I still haven't showed you my gratitude enough, Kido-kun," Kiba suddenly said, making me turned to him. He then bowed just like what he did in the dojo. "Thank you so much for listening to my request back then. I promise I will repay the debt somehow," he said seriously. I couldn't help to be amazed of this guy's gentleman attitude.

"Hey, raise your head, dude. You don't need to thank me, after all, I didn't fulfill your request, you know." I said calmly. "You requested for me to punish you instead of them. I didn't do that, right? So, there's no need to thank me," I said and continued to walk.

"Is that so?" Kiba confirmed with refreshing smile and walked next to me. "...but I guess I could still thank you for that exciting battle. It's been so long since I could let loose like that."

"Oh yeah... about that..." I scratched my head. "Umm... dude, this is maybe a strange question, but... please answer me seriously." I said to Kiba. "...Did I really win back then?"

I saw Kiba's expression turned weird for some reason. Then, he asked me, "what do you mean by that?" Being asked like that, I could only answer, "Well... to be honest, somehow I couldn't remember anything about that battle in clear details, especially about that last round. I wonder if it's because I hit my head too hard when I fell back then..."

While I was pondering, Kiba touched my shoulder. "Of course you won, Kido-kun. Everyone in the dojo saw how you defeat me with that precise hit to my abdomen," he said while rubbing the left side of his abdomen.

"Yeah, but..."

...

...

 _... "Heh? but what?"_

Once again, I felt something weird happened. Still wasn't sure what was it, but it felt like a piece of my memory was abruptly rewrote, which left me with uncomfortable feeling similar to hangover.

"You don't have to be so humble about it, Kido-kun," I heard Kiba said beside me with his hand still on my shoulder. "In fact, may I call you Shinji-kun from now on? I got a feeling that we will become a good friend from here on," he then offered me his hand.

I could only smile weakly to that. While I knew this friendship would make Issei and co. even more pissed at me, I couldn't just reject him like that. Besides, Kiba seemed like a good person in general. He obviously could become better friends than that trio.

Finally, I took his hand and shook it. "Sure. Just don't expect me to call you Yuuto, though. I have a feeling that I will make every girl in this school my enemy if I do that."

He let out a chuckle. I couldn't help but laughed a little too. Wow, after everything that had happened in these past days, this must be one of the best thing that happened to me. I could only hope that it could be this way forever.

"Hmm... it looks like you have someone waiting for you, Shinji-kun." When we almost reach the school gate, Kiba pointed at the gate. There, I could make out one figure who stood alone beside the gate. Said figure was a petite girl with short brown hair. She immediately waved at me when she saw us.

" _Huh, Yui? What the hell is she doing there?"_ I tilted my head in confusion. Yui then ran to us, "Hello~ Shinji-nii... eh, who is this?" She asked while pointing at Kiba. Naturally, Kiba let out his sure-kill charming smile. "My name is Kiba Yuuto. Pleased to meet you, umm..."

"Shinozaki Yui! Ehehe... are you my brother's friend? Nice to meet you too. I hope he doesn't cause you too much trouble," Yui said while smiling energetically. Yup, just leave it to my sister to humiliate me in front of my new friend.

"Why do you still here, sis? Were you waiting for me?" I asked. Yui immediately nodded, "yes, how's the plan, nii? Was it success?" she asked me curiously. I could only scratch my head, "well... sort of."

"Umm... sorry to interrupt, but it looks like I have to go now. I have another appointment with my club," Kiba suddenly interrupted us.

I looked at him curiously. "You still have club activity at this time? Dude, it's dark already, you know," I pointed to the sky.

He could only smile weakly. "Well, I better be quick then. See you again, Shinji-kun, Shinozaki-san," he turned and left us. I and Yui waved good bye as we saw him went back to the school ground. Now I felt kinda guilty for making him accompany me until here. I hoped he wasn't late for his club or anything.

"Now, shall we go home too?" I asked Yui, to which she nodded happily. We then walked together leaving the school ground. "Neee...nii~ what happened back then at the dojo?" Yui asked, still with happy tone.

I sighed and ruffled her hair. "I'll tell you at dinner. Look forward to it, okay?" I answered half-jokingly. "Yayy~ yayy~ You're the best, Shinji-nii!" She overjoyed and immediately hugged my arm.

 _*NYUUTTT*_

"Urghh..." I flinched and pulled my arm in haste when I felt burning pain on my wrist. "Eh? Eh? Nii, what happened? Is there something hurt?" Yui asked in panic when I suddenly did that. I rubbed that specific place and checked if there's something wrong.

" _Heh, since when there's a bruise here?"_ I wondered as I observed a quite big and already swollen bruise on my left wrist. _"How could it be here?"_

* * *

XXXXXXX (?) XXXXXXX

* * *

"Sorry I'm late, buchou," Kiba entered the room and immediately apologized. "Got a little sidetracked on the way here," he admitted.

There were some people who were waiting for him in that dim room. The red-haired girl, the one he called buchou, that was sitting behind the desk spoke, "It's alright, Yuuto. Were you helping one of the clubs again?"

"Yeah, that's right. Although..." Kiba's lips then curled up in quite unfamiliar manner, almost like an excited childlike smile. "...this time, I manage to find someone interesting."

Another girl with ponytail who was standing behind the red-haired girl spoke up. "Ara ara~ it's really unusual for you to show that kind of smile, Yuuto-kun. I wonder what happened exactly?" she asked.

"Well, to put it simple..." Kiba paused, then continued, "...I had a small sparring session with the new transfer student."

That statement instantly intrigued the red-haired girl. "Give me the detail, Yuuto," she ordered. She then put down her tea cup and rest her chin on her hands.

And soon he did. He told everybody in the room how he was asked to do a sparring duel against the infamous perverted trio's (now perverted quartet) newest member, the new transfer student, Kido Shinji. He also told them every last detail of the match, which naturally left all of them speechless.

"So, you want to say that this Kido Shinji guy actually fought on par with you, Yuuto?" The red-haired girl asked at the end of Kiba's explanation. Kiba could only let out a dry smile. "As much as it hurts me to acknowledge it, Shinji-kun really did fight on the same level with me. He could even keep up with my 'speed' somehow."

"Interesting..." the red-haired girl muttered. "Kido Shinji, huh... If I'm not mistaken, isn't that the name of the transfer student that Sona mentioned?" She then asked to the ponytail girl.

"Now that you say it, buchou, I remember it now. Indeed, It is the name of one of two transfer students that just transferred here a few days ago." The ponytail girl answered. "To think that guy could actually keep up with Yuuto-kun in term of swordsmanship. What an interesting fellow~"

"There's actually more than that," suddenly, Kiba interrupted. Everyone immediately shifted their gazes back to Kiba. "It is just my mere hunch and I don't have any proof to back it up, but when I fought him, I ultimately realized that Shinji-kun is actually very used to fighting, Even more, it's more like he's used to fight in life-and-death situation."

The two girls glanced at each other unsurely, then asked him. "Why could you think like that, Yuuto?" The crimson-haired girl asked again, with more of pressing tone this time.

"Remember when I said he took his first stance incorrectly and resulted in everyone in the dojo laughed at him?" Kiba asked. "Yeah, I do. What's the connection?" The red-haired girl answered and asked back at the same time.

"While everyone just immediately assumed that his stance was wrong, it's actually not necessarily true. Sure, it was wrong stance in kendo, but his posture back then was a legitimate fighting posture. And while I still didn't know what kind of fighting stance that was, I'm pretty sure it got something to do with the use of shield," Kiba explained. "Moreover, he seemed to just do that so naturally, like he had taken that stance hundred times over before. I made my conclusion after that fact," Kiba ended his explanation.

Silence filled the room for a couple of seconds, before the ponytail girl decided to ask her buchou. "What will we do now, buchou? Should we observe him, too?"

The red-haired girl pondered for a while, before curling her lips into small smile and shook her head. "No, we don't have to. We already got two candidates to observe, and that is already more than enough. Besides..." her smile then turned a little into playful smile, "...I think we can let Sona handle this one."

"What do you mean, buchou?" The ponytail girl asked curiously. Red-haired girl then turned her rather sly smile to her. "Say Akeno... how many times Sona has ever mentioned someone's name directly to us?" Akeno (ponytail girl) pondered for a while, then ultimately shook her head. "She's hardly ever. Most of the time, she would just mention their class or what year they are in, or even just use the term 'transfer student' when mentioning them. She's almost never given us their name so directly like this case."

"That's because Sona's never really interested in making any real friends. Or rather, she's bad at making friends. That's why she's never really interested to remember someone's name, unless that person is really worthy of her attention," the red-haired girl explained. "Hmm... to think that boy could left an impression on Sona, I wonder what kind of guy he is?" She smiled kinda... maturely, this time.

"You think, the student council will 'take' him, buchou?" Kiba sounded kinda disappointed for that statement, like he just lost his one chance to be in one 'group' with his new friend.

"I don't exactly know, but I do know Sona would observe him too from now on, so I think we can left this new student's matter to her." The red-haired girl concluded. "Now, I'd like to hear the report about both of our candidates. Koneko!" She then raised her voice to call the lone girl who had been sitting on the sofa in silence and seemed can't stop munching sweets.

"Yes, buchou," the petite white-haired girl stood up. "Everything's going well. There's still no suspicious movement around both of them," she explained shortly.

"Alright, keep up the good job, Koneko. I'm counting on you, especially on that new girl, Shinozaki Yui. Even though I still can't determine what kind of power she has in her, I could guess that it's quite strong. Please stay with her, okay?" Red haired girl asked and Koneko immediately nodded. "Understood, buchou," she answered, still with stoic expression and monotone voice.

"You too, Yuuto. While I understand your excitement of meeting a new possible comrade, please don't forget to keep your eye on the other boy, alright? His sacred gear is strong, I can feel it. Moreover, there are some reports that say there's some 'suspicious activity' that intend to harm the sacred gear users. So I ask you to watch him closely, is that clear?"

Yuuto nodded obediently, "I understand, buchou." Red-haired girl let out a satisfied smile, then stood up abruptly. "Listen to me guys! The next few days might be the most important turning point in our life! Let's keep doing our best and believe everything will be better. For Gremory's glory!"

That cheer rang inside the room and filled every person with new spirit and energy. Now, they're ready to do their 'club activities' for that day.

...

...

...

And that was what happened; just an ordinary night, doing ordinary routine. They hadn't realized yet that they're about to discover a whole new world; the one behind the glass.

* * *

 **That's it for chapter 2.**

 **I hope you all like it. Also, sorry if the story hasn't reach the main plot yet. Don't worry though, as next chapter will be the first time our MC got introduced with 'supernatural', even got directly tangled with with one of them!**

 **Please do not hesitate to leave some comments or critics. Your respond would be very appreciated.**

 **Alright, I'm GEStorm signing off for now!**

 **Next Chapter: Things Got Weirder (Understatement of the Year)**


	4. Chapter 3: Things Got Weirder

**Hello Guys!**

 **I'm very, very sorry about this late publishing. Thing's been a little hectic on my side; plus my procrastinating habit started kicking up again and seriously messing up with my writing time.**

 **I'd like to say Thank You to all my faithful readers who has read and/or commented on my story. Also special thanks to all the the critics and advises. Really appreciated, guys!**

 **Now, before we started, I'd like to make something clear about this FF first, and that's about the pairing.**

 **You see, I personally like Harem story. It's one of my biggest guilty pleasure. I guess that's the reason why I knew the anime Highschool DxD, which is one of the most famous harem anime I've ever come across.**

 **So, I decided that this story WILL have a little bit of harem element.**

 **BUT, the harem element WILL NOT be the main focus of this FF.**

 **The reason is, because I also have to put the serious and mysterious element of the KR Ryuki into the story. And as you have known, my MC is from the KR Ryuki-verse. Thus, my FF will prioritize the exploring of the darker and more mysterious tone of KR Ryuki, instead of the harem ecchi tone of Highschool DxD.**

 **Besides, the KR Ryuki-verse itself has so many mysteries to be solved. I'd rather not dwelling too much in the harem aspect if I can help it.**

 **So... yeah, thanks for not skipping this part.**

 **Without further ado, this is your chapter 3! I'm sorry if there's any grammar or spelling error in it. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Ryuki or High school DxD.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Things Got Weirder (Understatement of the Year)

* * *

Compared to what had happened for that first 3 days, the next few days of my school life felt kinda... uneventful.

If you need a recap, here it is.

Basically, for the first three days, I had to deal with a nasty rumor about me being a pervert, all because I got involved with wrong type of people. To solve that misunderstanding once and for all, I had to beg to student council to mediate our reconciliation with the kendo club, the exact same club that we got into problem with.

Long story short, the reconciliation didn't go as smooth as I'd hoped, and I was forced to partake in a little sparring match to solve the problem. Somehow, I won, and as the result the kendo club agreed to forgive us and forget about this problem.

But, that conclusion made my friends (the infamous perverted trio; the wrong type of people I got involved with) angry, and thus they hadn't talk to me anymore afterward. Luckily, I also got a new friend, that being the most popular boy in our school, Kiba Yuuto, who was also my opponent at that sparring match.

... Funny how my circle of friendship changed from the most hated group of guys in the school to the most popular guy in just one day.

Anyway, after that day fateful day, I could feel my reputation in the school got... better, even if only slightly. It's maybe because the perverted trio had ignored me completely, the rumor about me being one of them started to cease.

Now I could walk down the corridor without attracting distasteful glares from every student around me. Lately, I was even able to communicate properly with some of the girls in my class without making them scream.

Also, apparently the rumor about me winning a kendo match against Kiba spread fast like wild fire. Suddenly, I felt that all student could recognize me by face. Every student that saw me immediately stared with curiosity, and some even with slight hint of admiration.

The problem in that was, because most of the student are girls and I'm not really good at being in a limelight, those gazes bothered me very much. Unlike Kiba who can be among a flock of girls and still act cool and composed, I always rather avoid being in the center of attention, as it makes me nervous.

Oh yeah, speaking of Kiba, he turned out to be a really good friend. Though we rarely hung out together (because most of the time he was flocked by his fangirls, and no way in hell I'm gonna endanger myself by plunging into that group of piranhas just to talk to him), he sometimes finds a chance to slip away just to meet up and have a brief chat with me.

Same as mine, Yui's school life turned out to be quite enjoyable for her, too. Aside from having many friends (besides her fellow chibi girl, Toujou), she somehow also had already made quite a big name out of herself; that the news about 'the duo loli mascot of Kuoh' had immediately become one of the trending topics in the school.

Despite that fact, Yui appeared nonchalant, as usual. She kept inviting me to have lunch together every day, along with Toujou that somehow always stick together with her. I really hope it's because she genuinely like Yui, not because Yui forces her or anything. Then again, it's kinda impossible to tell with her because her expression was 99% poker face.

She's not really bad, though. Sometimes I got a chance to talk privately with her when Yui 'left to get something she forgot' (seriously, she did that so often that I ultimately decided that she did that on purpose, just to make us warm up to each other), and from my experience talking to her, I could tell that she is a good and honest girl, even though she rarely smiles; or makes any other facial expression, for that matter.

And to complete the series of good things that happened to us in these past few days, I'd like to tell you that I'd already got a part-time job, and Yui'd already joined a club.

I managed to score a job at a convenience store near our house. While I wasn't in a dire need of money or anything (as my dad still regularly send me some from his workplace overseas), I needed something to kill my boredom. As I didn't find any of the club in my school interesting, I resorted to part-time job, because that way I could spend my time effectively while earning more pocket money. Killing two birds with one stone.

As for Yui, she was practically scouted by the art club. Apparently, the art club had somehow discovered my sister's talent in drawing and had begged her to join them ever since. Yui was troubled at first, because she originally wanted to help our financial by getting part-time job as well.

When she discussed that matter with me, I just flicked her forehead playfully and said, "don't be stupid, sis. I'm pretty sure there won't be any place that accepts elementary school kid." I said jokingly while smirking. I still remember her making an adorable pout when I said that.

"Besides, I don't do this because there's a problem with our financial condition, kay? I'm just bored, and there's no club in school that gets my attention, so I choose part-time job to kill my time. If you have something more interesting you want to do, then just go and do that," I added.

After that, Yui decided to try that club, and after some time, she finally found her place in the club. As a plus, she quickly became one of the ace member in the club, and her reputation sky-rocketed even more.

Now, if you look at it, our life had certainly gotten better, right? I regained my reputation and got a friend and a job, and Yui was still pleasantly enjoying her life as always (as a plus, there's no sign of her 'brother' coming again lately), and she joined a club she could really be comfortable with.

…

...

Well, if you fancy a happily ever after or straight slice-of-life kinda ending without any twisted or mind-blowing event whatsoever, then I highly suggest you to stop reading right now.

Because after this, I will tell you how my life went DOWNHILL after I witnessed my 'former friend' getting murdered in cold blood by his psycho girlfriend with oversized black wings cladded in a bondage suit.

…

…

... No, even I can't make up stuff THAT crazy.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"And… _*pant*_ that must be… _*pant*_ the last box, right?" I panted heavily as I stacked the last box on top of the others. " _*pant*_ Fiuuhhh… how the hell can you do this so easily, Yura-san? These boxes are not light," I stretched my back as I addressed a girl that had made me help her carry this box.

She is Yura Tsubasa, a tall, rather androgynous-looking girl, with shoulder-length blue hair, blue eyes, and gallant posture. The term 'beautiful boy' would fit her perfectly, especially when she demonstrated her unimaginable strength. Seriously, I don't lie when I said she could haul two to three boxes at once, when I struggled just to pick one up. Truly a girl you don't want to mess up with.

She was busy arranging these boxes so easily when I called her. Though it didn't seem to be a problem, since she managed to answer me without taking her eyes off them. "Well, I guess it's because I'm used to doing something like this," she said as she put the last box in its place and turned to face me. She then puffed out her chest with her hands on her hips. "It's all about spirit, Kido! Remember that well!"

I wasn't really sure how to respond to that, so I just let out a small weak laughter. Fortunately, another cheerful voice saved me from that awkward situation. "Tsubasa-senpai! Kido-senpai! Are you two done yet? We have to go back quickly!" In front of the storage room, another girl with long twin-tailed brown hair and green eyes were waiting for us. She wore striped green stockings and green clips on her hair that match her eyes.

"Hurry up! Kaichou won't be happy if we waste too much time here," she urged us. Yura-san and I then got out of the room, and together we walked to the student council room.

...

...

... at this point, some recap maybe in order.

So, does anybody remember about me asking help from Sona-kaichou to mediate my reconciliation with kendo club? Well... if you remember **really** clearly, you'd realize I also said this particular line...

" _I guess I will owe you a favor then, kaichou. If you help me now, I promised I will repay you somehow."_

… Yeahhh... so long story short, kaichou demanded for that repayment exactly the day after that whole fiasco. Her demand was for me to become student council's 'assistant' for a week. According to her, student council had become very busy lately, and could use some outside help. Because I'd already promised, I accepted the role and thus, becoming the 'unofficial underling' of student council from that day on.

"Senpai, are you okay? Your face looks grim. Have you had a breakfast before?" The twin-tailed girl peered closer to my face with curious expression on her face. She is Nimura Ruruko, the only first year among the student council members. She is nice girl in overall, just sometimes has tendency to ignore my personal space unknowingly.

" _Wow, too close!"_ I startled, and instinctively stepped back. "I'm fine, Nimura. Just thinking about...things," I admitted.

Suddenly, my back was slapped with enough force to make me cough really hard (and maybe bruise my spine along the way) I turned and found Yura-san looking at me seriously with her hands on her hip. "Stop with the gloomy expression already, Kido! Look, you make Ruruko worry here," she scolded me.

"I'm not being gloomy. I was just thinking. My face while thinking is always like this," I sighed and pointed at my deadpanned face. These two looked at my face for a few seconds, before suddenly burst out laughing. Sheeshh... was my expression really that funny?

"Hahah...so-sorry, senpai... I-it's just, ha...hahaha," Nimura tried her best to hold her laughter, but ultimately failed to do so.

"HAHAHAHA...well, for one thing, I really do think that kind of expression suit you very much, Kido," Yura-san didn't even hesitate to laugh at me out loud.

"Haha, very funny, guys," I grumbled in annoyance. "Let's just go now, shall we? Kaichou wouldn't be happy if we're late." I walked ahead, leaving them who were still chuckling, slightly behind. _"Well...look at the bright side, Shinji. At least you manage to entertain somebody,"_ I consoled myself as we started walking together again.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"We're back," I announced as we step inside the student council room.

"Ah, welcome back. Thanks for your help, guys," we were immediately greeted back by Kusaka Reya, treasurer of the student council and possibly the most soft-spoken girl around here. She has brown eyes and her long brown hair were done in two braids at the end. I personally think that her blue headband suits her very much, but of course, I never said that directly to her.

"All in the day's work, Kusaka-san," I said. "I see it's still very hectic here in the morning, huh? What should I do now, then?" I asked, ready for my next assignment.

As I said that, I looked around the room. Every member was still very busy doing their own job. Sona-kaichou was sitting behind her desk, arranging forms or some sorts. Tsubaki-fuku kaichou was still obediently standing behind kaichou, providing support and other stuff. Even Meguri-san was busy running back and forth around the room to check any assignment that was given to her. She glanced at us and briefly waved at me, before immediately focused back to her job. And in one corner of the room...

"AAHHH... MOMO-SENPAI! What are you doing?!"

... _"Yep, here we go again,"_ I sighed and muttered in my heart.

In the working desk corner, Saji, who was sitting at his desk and apparently was working on some papers as well, was being seduced by Hanakai Momo, the white-haired member of student council with blue-green eyes. She was nonchalantly pressing her breasts onto Saji's arm, and occasionally whispering something seductively to him.

Although Saji tried his best to stick to his job, it's very clear that even he was wavered by that bold move. His hand was sweating and shaking and his eyes occasionally auto-focused onto Hanakai-san's breasts. But, he didn't even try to shake her off or anything. Haaa... what a wimp.

"Oh...hello, guys! You too, Kido-kun. You all have come back, I see," Hanakai-san waved at us, still not moving back from Saji even though she clearly realized Nimura was already fuming here. It's like she was challenging her.

Soon after, Nimura snapped. "Mouu... enough, Momo-senpai! Please get away from Genshirou-senpai!" She then walked to them furiously and hugged Saji's other arm, then tried to pull them apart. I could just chuckle when I saw this cat fight over the very-troubled Saji.

"Woow~ what a lady killer you are, Saji-kun~ Already building a harem, I see~ I guess It's no surprise that kaichou never look at you that way until now, huh~?" I teased him mercilessly.

Saji could only grunt in frustration. "Ughhh... Shut Up, Kido! Why don't you help me instead of just babbling nonsense over there?!" He shouted back at me, but I just stuck my tongue out and then pretended I didn't see anything.

Everybody kept on doing whatever assignments were given to them, and I tried my best either to help them or to not get in the way. Finally, when our morning assignment ended, kaichou assembled us in the middle of the room as always, gave a few briefing & evaluation, before decided to dismiss us.

"Wait, Kido-san," kaichou called out to me before I got out of the room. "I want to talk to you in private, if you don't mind," she said, to which I just shrugged and turned back to face her.

We waited until everyone was out of the room, then senpai started. "Kido-san, it's been a week since you started working as our assistant. As per agreement, your work will cease tomorrow," kaichou said me, which reminded me that I'd been working with them for one full week. "I personally want to thank you for helping us so far," she bowed her head slightly.

"Also, if it's alright with you, I want to ask your opinion about all these student council work," she adjusted her glasses and asked me that question.

I immediately thought back about things I'd done those past seven days. Helping in arranging the archive, filling and copying some forms, moving and picking things for the members; sometimes even becoming their personal errand boy, and obviously, all my conversation and bond of friendship that I'd built with all of them.

Chatting with energetic Meguri-san and calm Kusaka-san, those times when Yura-san forced me to arm-wrestle her (she always decimates me) and witnessing Hanakai-san and Nimura fighting over Saji almost every day.

Now I remembered all that, I realized how much I enjoyed my time is so nice and close to each other, like one big family. Hell, even Saji didn't feel as much as obnoxious as he originally was.

"I enjoyed my time here, kaichou," I answered honestly. "Everything was so well-organized, and even if the situation got hectic most of the time, the atmosphere was always cozy and warm. The teamwork was very good, and everyone here could do their job properly," I complimented every good part I could recognize.

Then, I also added while smiling, "you seriously have one excellent team here, kaichou."

Kaichou's upper lip raised slightly, forming small smile I rarely got from her. "Then, have you already considered my offer from yesterday?" she asked, somewhat wistfully. I stopped myself and thought back to my private conversation with her yesterday evening.

Back then, kaichou had actually offered me a place in the student council if I want it. She told me that she had been observing my work for those past few days, and thus deemed me worthy of the position.

She also explained the privileges that I would get if I joined the student council. Everything was very tempting, except for the small detail that had held me back.

"Umm...yeah, actually about that, kaichou, may I have more time to think about it?" I scratched the back of my head and said awkwardly. "The truth is, I still haven't discussed this thing with Yui, since she's busy with her club activities and all." I then put my palms together in front of my face said, "I promise I'll give you my answer ASAP, kaichou. It's just can't be today. I'm sorry."

Kaichou sighed in defeat, as if she'd already predicted this kind of answer from me. "I will expect the answer **tomorrow** , Kido-san," she stated, emphasizing on the word 'tomorrow', with strict tone along with her trademark glare.

I could only raise my hand in defeat. "Yeah, kaichou. Tomorrow, I promise."

"Don't make promise that lightly, Kido-san. What I need is your answer, not your promise," kaichou said, concluding our discussion. I then excuse myself and walked back to my class for the homeroom

... I wonder how late will I be?

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"HEEHHH?! You were scouted by the student council?"

On our way out of the school building, Yui was shell-shocked when I told her about kaichou's offer. She then grabbed my hands and shook them vigorously. "Waahhh...congratulations, Shinji-nii! I can't believe you actually make it!" She cheered loudly for everyone to hear.

I hastily shut her mouth by my hand before we attracted anymore unnecessary attention. "Cut it out sis, for swivel sake! No need to be so exaggerating about this," I scolded her, which proved ineffective since she's still looking at me with sparkling eyes and overflowing passion.

"Buutt~ You know that our student council was very well-known and respected by the entire student body, right? Especially for Shitori Sona-kaichou and Shinra Tsubaki-fuku kaichou. Nee...nee... Did you know, nii? Those two hold the third and fourth place for the most popular girl in the entire school! Isn't that awesome?" My sister explained while fangirling at the same time, resulting in one crazy exposition I couldn't keep up with.

"Moreover, there's rumor going around that every last member of the student council was handpicked by kaichou herself. Apparently kaichou has her own criteria in choosing her members, and those criteria were still secret until now. That's why, the members of student council were considered special, and highly respected too. If you were chosen, that proved you're one of those 'specials' too, Shinji-nii!"

Hearing Yui's ramble, I couldn't help but rehearsing what Meguri-san had told me when I first met her. She had told me that kaichou and fuku kaichou are indeed two of the most popular girls in school. And after sticking with the student council for a week, I did realize that the members were all special, in a sense that all of them have some special unique trait that stood out enough for kaichou to notice them (and trust me, it isn't easy to impress kaichou)

... but that does raise a question about why she chose me, though.

Without any mean to brag, I did feel that what I'd done after a week working with all of them was... well, ordinary, at best. Sure, I sometimes help in doing slightly more important job, but most of the time my job consisted of something lot less important like stapling some module, picking up some archive, moving boxes and other heavy equipment, and even buying drinks for all of them; basically just daily menial lackey jobs that everyone can do. I couldn't see how kaichou would asses my skill by just that.

... I could only hope she didn't just choose me to become their 'official errand boy' from here on. Or even worse, the rumor about her 'secret special criteria' was all false, and she just chose people based on her preference about someone.

Because no matter how much I like student council, I don't want to be picked based on something like favoritism. It wouldn't be fair for the other students.

"...Shinji-nii, you okay? Why the scary face?" Yui tugged my sleeve and looked at me with worried face, which made me realize just then that I was scowling so deeply. I immediately shook my head.

"Well, I guess I will just leave that matter for another day, yeah?" I said while patting her head. "How 'bout you, sis? Got anything good to share? How about your club activities today?" I tried to change the subject.

Yui scowled back at me. "Nii...you don't hesitate because of your part-time job, do you?" She asked, then muttered sadly, "...so it's true that we need the money, after all."

"What?! No, no, you got this wrong, sis!" I hastily said. "It's not because of that. I told you I just applied for the job because I had time to spare, that's all!"

"It's just... I'm afraid that I got recruited because of some favoritism. After all, it wouldn't be fair for the others who genuinely want to join the student council AND have the real skill to do that, if their opportunity is snatched by me just because I got better relationship with the members," I confessed my worry.

Yui responded with her best _are-you-kidding-me_ stare, then sighed loudly in utter disbelief. "Nii, do you seriously think Sona-kaichou is a person who would do something like that?" Yui asked in slightly annoyed tone. "Granted, I don't really know her that much, so it's not my place to judge. But you've been working with kaichou-san for a full week now, right? You should've been able to judge her personality quite well by now."

Her words effectively made me rehearse every last time I'd interacted with kaichou. And yeah, I guess I'd known her well enough to know that she wouldn't fancy any form of favoritism inside her team. She is too noble and strict to use such underhanded way to get what she wants like that. Besides, kaichou loves this school way too much to let any incompetent person mess it up by joining student council.

"Well, of course it's back to your own decision, Shinji-nii. I just hope you wouldn't end up regretting your choice later," my train of thought was interrupted by Yui who was smiling playfully at me. "Now let's hurry up! Ehehe…it's been a long time since we got a chance to go home together. I missed this!" she hugged my arm and grinned widely.

She is right, though. Ever since she joined the art club and I became busy helping student council and working part-time, we'd almost never gone home together again. Today was one rare occasion when Yui didn't have any club activity and kaichou told me not to come and help after school. Even though I still had my work shift at the evening, at least we were able to go home together again after a long time. I wouldn't waste this rare occasion by glooming around.

We were enjoying our chit-chat until somebody got Yui's attention. She stopped and immediately pulled me over to the side, ignoring my cry of protest.

"Ow, oww, OWWW… watch the arm, sis! I got no spare for these!" I rambled in protest when Yui forcibly dragged me by the arm until we reach the nearest bushes. She forced my head down, and together we crouched behind the tallest bush, seemingly hiding from something.

… Shit, bad déjà vu incoming in 3… 2… 1

This felt incredibly similar to the situation when I met Issei for the first time; when we desperately hiding for our lives from a group of angry girls with wooden swords. (There, I said it)

"Can I at least know what we are hiding from?" I half-grumbled while picking twigs and leaves off my hair and shirt. Yui put her forefinger on her mouth and shushed me. Then she silently pointed to one direction. There, I saw lone white-haired girl licking a lollipop and walking into the woods near the dojo.

"Isn't that Toujou? Why're we spying on her?" I asked Yui, which got completely ignored. Soon after Toujou disappeared inside the woods, Yui moved along to her direction; ninja-style. She signaled me to follow her, and I deadpanned at that silly gesture. Half-heartedly, I sighed and started walking to follow her.

The direction Toujou walked into lead us deeper into the woods, until we reached an old-looking building; standing alone in the middle of the woods. However, this building is not by any means unnatural. In fact, I knew this building. This is the old school building, the one we use before the main school building we use now was built.

" _What the hell's Toujou doing in there?"_ I wondered as I approached Yui, who was still hiding behind a tree. I tapped her shoulder and asked, "Oy sis, the hell are we doing here?"

"Waaa! Shinji-nii, sshhh…" Yui, who was still focusing at her target, startled at my sudden approach. She immediately grabbed my arm and pulled me onto her side. Together, we hid for a while, until we made sure Toujou had entered the building.

"Alright, explanation now, sis. Make it quick," I said with my hands crossed over my chest. But instead of looking at me, Yui's full attention was still focused on that rather creepy looking-building.

"Hey, Shinji-nii…" suddenly, Yui turned her face to me. "Let's check what's inside," she said with voice full of excitement and sparkling eyes.

She was just about to dash to the said building when I pulled her collar to stop her. "Ah, ah... not so fast, sis!" I said with slightly annoyed tone. "First thing first, explanation! Why're we stalking Toujou?"

"I want to see Koneko-chan's club activity!" Yui answered with undeniable vigor. "For some reason, her club activity always takes place in this old school building. Moreover, she never talked about them, and whenever I asked, she just straight up ignored me. Isn't that very mysterious? So today, I will... OWW!"

"That's breach of privacy, you idiot!" I scolded my sister after I bonked her on the head. "Just because she refused to tell what her club is doesn't mean it's right to pry into it like this. Let's just go home," I said as I offered her my hand.

"Mouu~ just for this one, nii~ Aren't you even a little bit curious what's inside this mysterious building?" Yui pouted very cutely at me.

Of course I also consider this a little bit weird. I couldn't even think why a club would choose this deserted and isolated building as their clubroom. But truthfully, I don't really care. Besides, I don't want to imagine what Toujou's reaction would be If she knows we're stalking her.

Partly because I don't want to creep out one girl I finally able to befriend; partly because I don't want to get punched by her again. Because trust me on this; for a loli-esque girl with overall slim build, Toujou punches HARD. I still got a bruise on my arm from the last time when I tried to touch her sweet stash.

(Pro Tip: NEVER touch Toujou's sweet stash)

But my biggest reason for not wanting to go in the old school building was definitely this feeling of 'wrongness' that I'd felt since... the first time I saw this place, right after my first day of the school.

... Yeah, yeah, feel free to call me ridiculous, freak, coward, or any of the sort as you like. But I didn't lie when I say I'd felt some...weird, and sometimes even borderline dangerous 'aura' whenever I passed by this place. And because my gut feeling is usually right, I ultimately decided to steer clear of this place, until now.

"No means no, Yui," I strictly scolded my sister. "Let's respect Toujou's privacy. If she didn't want you to know, then you can just wait until the time she wants to tell you," I told her while scratching the back of my head. "Now, let's go home already. I'm hu..."

...

... wait, where does she go?

"HURRYYY UP, NII~" Yui called over to me while standing in front of the old school building. A second after, I watched her disappearing behind it. Apparently, she'd taken off when I was busy daydreaming. I could only sigh and ended up following her to the place I really didn't want to get involved with.

" _Haaah... so much for missing going home together."_ I grumbled in my mind. I was just about to walk closer and tell her once again how much of a bad idea it was when I heard urgent voices coming this way.

" **Wooyyy... hurry up, guys!"**

" _ ***pant* *pant***_ **At least...** _ ***pant***_ **they're not following us anymore..."**

I didn't have to look at the face to know whose voices were these. I could recognize these voices anywhere, and I wasn't happy about that.

My guess was soon proved right when Matsuda and Motohama frantically running out of the woods and stopped in front of the old school building, then started panting like hell.

" **THE HELL, YOU GUYS! Why'd you left me behind?!"**

And... soon after, the last member of perverted trio, Hyoudou Issei, ran to join them with bruises painted all over his body. Apparently, he's the only one getting beaten up today, because Matsuda and Motohama were actually without scratch.

" _*pant_ _*_ _*pant_ _*_ And I didn't even get any chance to see anything. Haahhh... this is the wo... heh?" Issei's eyes met mine and we both froze.

"Hmm...what is it, Issei? You look like you just se... heh?" Matsuda and Motohama soon followed, and they froze as well.

...

...

... _awkward_

"Sooo... let me guess..." I bravely started the conversation after the most excruciating ten seconds staring contest. "...you guys got involved in a problem again?"

""Humphh... whatever we did is not your business, traitor! Stop acting like you care about us!"" The trio lashed out at me together. Well, obviously I didn't have to be a genius to realize that they hated me with passion now.

"Why can't you all stop doing something idiotic for one goddamn day?" I sighed and muttered in annoyance loud enough for them to barely hear. "You just distanced yourself even further from popularity like this. Just in case you all haven't realized, every female population in this school has already recognized you as a bunch of perverted degenerates, and that's exactly because you gave them a good reason to think so."

Their eyes twitched after hearing my speech, meaning they DID realize that fact and felt slightly hurt when it's rubbed on their faces.

But of course, once stubborn idiots, always stubborn idiots. "SH-SHUT UP! You just said that because you're already popular now, you bastard," Issei shouted at me.

"What're you talking about? What popular?" I asked skeptically.

As I said that, all of them suddenly cried comically and pointed at me simultaneously.

"FIRST! YOU BEFRIENDED THE DAMNABLE HANDSOME PRINCE AND WAS ABLE TO GET HIM TO SHARE HIS HAREM WITH YOU!"

... huh?

"SECOND! YOU CREPT YOUR WAY INTO THE STUDENT COUNCIL AND PROCEED TO MAKE A HAREM OUT OF EVERY BEAUTIFUL FEMALE MEMBER THERE!"

... huuuh?

"THIRD! AND YOUR MOST UNFORGIVABLE SIN!" They simultaneously inhaled a lot of air before shouting, "YOU MANAGED TO GET YOUR HANDS ON THE DUO UNOFFICIAL MASCOTS OF KUOH, TOUJOU KONEKO-CHAN AND SHINOZAKI YUI-CHAN!"

...

... HUUUUUHHH?

"OBJECTION!" I pointed back at them in over exaggerated manner and retorted with a shout-out of one of my favorite lines. "The heck are you all talking about?! It's not like that at all! ARGHH... who the hell spre..."

...

...

"Shinji-nii~ Here you are! Come here quick! Let's check... eh?"

Suddenly, Yui appeared out of nowhere and hugged my arm tightly. She's just about to drag me with her when she finally realized I wasn't alone there.

"Umm... Shinji-nii, who are these people?" Yui asked as she held my hand. "Am I... interrupting something?"

I couldn't resist an urge to face-palm myself, as I saw the face of the perverted trio turned white, like someone had just bleached them. This must be the worst timing to introduce Yui to them.

But as now the milk had been spilled (or whatever the appropriate metaphor for this situation is) I guess I didn't have any choice aside from getting on with it.

After some quick introductions, the _still-pale-faced_ Motohama asked me with a shaky voice. "B—b-bu-but... bo-both of you... ha-have different family names, right? S-so that means..."

"Hey, have some tact, dude," I sighed at him. "But yeah, we're not blood-related siblings," I ended my explanation.

I actually had hoped that knowing Yui is my sister would at least make them correct that last statement. After all, I'm not a lolicon nor a siscon. There's no way I would be interested in seducing a loli like Toujou, let alone my loli little sister.

... Ohh boy, was I wrong.

As soon as I told them that, their body quivered furiously, and their hands balled into a fist. I had a bad feeling about this, so I told Yui to stay back a little. Then, I addressed them all as carefully as possible. "Umm... guys, you all okay?"

"DIE!"

"YOU!"

"BASTARD!"

"Gehh..." I almost yelped as I dodged three incoming fists. Then, I grabbed Yui and took 3-steps back. I sighed and muttered to myself, "yep, here we go again."

"YOU... YOU... _*hic* *hic*_ " Issei sobbed as he tried to speak a coherent sentence. "Not only you betrayed us, you also hid the fact that the newest school mascot, the cute and cheerful Yui-chan is actually your sister! SHAME ON YOU, SHINJI!"

"And not only that, she turns out to be your step-sister! Th-that means... YOU CAN LEGALLY MAKE HER A PART OF YOUR HAREM, YOU LUCKY BASTARD!" Matsuda threw a couple of punches at me, and Motohama lunged to grab me, but of course I could anticipate and dodge all of them.

" _This is starting to get annoying,"_ I grumbled in my heart. I was just thinking about fighting back in order to make them back off when Yui decided to interrupt us.

"Please stop this, senpai!" Yui suddenly stood between me and them with her arms spread open. "I don't know exactly what has happened between all of you, but I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding! Shinji-nii is not a bad person!" Yui pleaded and thus made us forget about our fight for a moment.

The trio looked at each other, before decided to ask away. "Th-then...it's not true that he befriended Kiba Yuuto just to steal a couple of girls from his harem? Or that he's been building his own harem in the student council this whole time? Or that he's extended his vile hands onto even Koneko-chan as well?"

" _Seriously, is there anyone really believing this crap?"_ I muttered in my heart.

"No, of course that's not true~," Yui said with sweet voice, maybe a little too sweet for my liking. **"Isn't that right? Neee~ Shinji-nii-san?"**

...

...

... _*gulp*_

I suddenly felt a wave of terror when Yui finally turned to address me. Her smiling face had become so terrifyingly sweet it honestly got me trembling in my shoes. Her eyebrows twitched furiously, and her glare was so intense it could very well pierce me through.

Also, I'd learned hard way after all those years living with her, that whenever she started to address me formally, it's a good time to IMMEDIATELY abandon my dignity, do _dogeza_ , and start apologizing.

" **Nii-san, you haven't answered me, you know?"** Yui's eerily cute voice resounded in my ears again. **"You didn't do anything that senpai have said just now, right? You didn't help the student council just to get intimate with its members, right? You didn't agree to have a lunch with me every day just to make a move on Koneko-chan, right?"** She asked, still with the same terrifying smile and strangely intense cute voice.

Thank God, I didn't fall on my butt and started asking for mercy. (though I was VERY tempted to) Instead, I stood my ground and managed to answer with confidence.

"O...o-o-o-of... of course, sis! Ha...hahaha, pl-please don't kill... I MEAN, please don't say something stupid like that! Aha...ahaha!"

...

...

... yep, with confidence, folks.

"Hmm... that's what I thought!" Yui voice and expression reverted back from 'deathly cheerful' to 'normal cheerful' as she nodded. Then she addressed the trio once more. "You all hear that, right, senpai? My brother didn't do anything you accused him to."

Apparently, Issei and co. also felt the wave of terror that my sister emitted, that they couldn't help but being stunned as well. They simultaneously blinked and shook their head a few times, before decided to... oh, apparently ask THE MOST RIDICULOUS QUESTION imaginable.

"Umm... does that mean..." Issei started, "...it's also not true that the closest and most suitable girl for him is Yui-chan; to the point that you two could be seen as perfect couple together?"

...

...

...

"Wow, okay, TIME OUT..." I blinked in disbelief and almost scratched my face in frustration. "What the frigging **FUCK** are you exactly talking about, dude?" I snapped at them; BIG TIME. "Do you realize what you just said is incredibly stupid, huh? We're siblings; of course we're close! Being close doesn't mean we're couple, you idiots!" I barked at them. "Yui, help me correct them right now!"

" **We...we're not a couple!** Bu-but if Shinji-nii wants to... I-I guess I could... umm, make an exception..."

"SEE! You heard... wait, what?" I slipped a little in the middle of my _anger-driven_ ramble after hearing that. In the corner of my eyes, I could see that Yui was blushing so intense, even her ears looked like it'd caught on fire. She's fidgeting and stammering like crazy; and blatantly refused to look me in the eyes.

...

...

... wait, what?

""You... you... _*hic*_ "" The trio sobbed together and let out comical tears. They all looked like they'd just been stabbed in the chest.

"THIS IS NOT OVER YET, YOU LUCKY BASTARD~~" The next moment, they all ran away while crying river. But after a few meters, one guy stopped and turned to me.

"I... _*sniff*_ I WON'T GIVE UP YET! Just you look, Shinji. I will soon get a hot girlfriend myself. And when I do, I will rub it in your face! REMEMBER THAT WELL!" Issei declared at me; still with tears in his eyes and snot on his nose. I didn't get any chance to say anything before he turned again and ran to follow his companions.

...

...

... If there's one thing I'm sure right now, it's that this matter is gonna be a pain and surely will come back and bite me in the ass later.

I let out a deep sigh. "Haaah... this is your fault, sis," I said as I lightly bonked Yui's head. With her face still kinda red, she scratched her hair and stuck her tongue out in response.

" _Haaah... this is gonna be a pain"_ I muttered to myself. "I'm tired. Let's just go home," I sighed.

Yui pouted, "eehhh... but I haven't look what's inside yeett~"

"No more argument, sis," I cut her protest. "I've lost my mood to explore anything right now; not that I have any interest to begin with. Let's go, I'm hungry," I nonchalantly said and turned away from our objective for coming here in the first place.

 _*CLAPP*_

Suddenly, I heard a sound of window being closed. Curious, I peered over my shoulder to the source of the sound; that being the old school building.

I could see one of the windows in the second floor clattered slightly; sign that it'd just been closed. Behind its glass, I couldn't help but vaguely recognize something that immediately enticed me.

Beautiful crimson-red hair fluttering majestically...

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

...

...

Today; I, Kido Shinji, 16 years old, would like to declare to the whole world that humanity is officially doomed.

If you want to know why...

...

"Heyyoo... Shinji! I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend here, Amano Yuuma-chan."

"Nice to meet you, Shinji-san. I'm Amano Yuuma, Issei-kun's girlfriend. Please treat me well."

...

...

Yeahhh... Issei got a girlfriend.

I repeat: ISSEI GOT A GIRLFRIEND!

DTHFREMBFGOSVDRTASFGRFBINKPWRSQDMVLFRSGIEFZKPND

...

Ehemm... sorry, kinda lost my composure there.

Anyway, I was still trying to distinguish fantasy from reality when Issei casually hugged my shoulder. "Ckckck... what can I say, eh? Finally, my irresistible charm finds its prey," he bragged with an annoyingly smug grin that made me want to punch him in the face.

And I would've had done that; if my eyes were not constantly auto-focused to his new girlfriend. Because goddamn, is she cute as hell. Her smile is so warm and pleasant I couldn't help but staring at it. Heck, even her voice is naturally sweet and full of compassion.

She possesses warm violet eyes and long, silky black hair, which complement her slender, but buxom figure very nicely.

And I wasn't kidding when I said buxom. Because...wow, even with her clothes on I could still spot her overly nice figure beneath them (especially in the...ehemm, breasts department)

She wore a uniform I'd never seen before, so she must be from another school. But that made everything even more weirder, though. How the hell could this beautiful and overall perfect girl know Issei? And even more bizarre, how could she fall in love with someone like him? What is the universe thinking when it let this matchmaking happen?

"Whoopss... look at the time now. It seems we have to go now. I still have to introduce Yuuma-chan to Matsuda and Motohama later. Let's go, Yuuma-chan," Issei happily said, then held his new girlfriend's hand and walked away together. I could see their happy faces together as Issei introduced his girlfriend to his fellow perverted friends, which effectively left them completely devastated.

Even though I was still a little bit... no, extremely pissed at him, I also secretly hoped that having a girlfriend would tone down his perverted antics by a wide margin. That way, maybe he wouldn't be a problem for too many people anymore.

 _*GYUUTTT...*_

"OOWWW... what the hell?!" I jumped and yelped in surprise as my side was suddenly pinched hard. Looking back, I found Yui glaring dagger at me. Apparently, I'd become to immersed in my conversation with Issei and his girlfriend; I forgot she was still standing there.

"Yui, oww... the hell would you pinch me?!" I rubbed my side furiously as I glared back at her. To my protest, Yui just pouted and turned her face away. "You were staring too much..."

"Haaa? No, I didn't! I was just trying to be polite, sis!" I defended myself.

"Yes, you did! Your eyes were glued on her boobs, too!" Yui shouted back

"No, they were not!"

"Yes, they were!"

"No, they were NOT!"

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"...So you stared at her boobs, right? I understand."

"NO, I DID NOT! ARGGHHH... Yui, what did you tell her?"

"Huumphh~ just the truth."

"Truth, my ass! She clearly misunderstood the situation here! Oyy Toujou, stop inching away from me!"

I barked in frustration at the school mascot duo who had completely misunderstood something about me and now was staring at me in contempt.

Seriously, Yui'd harassed me with a bunch of annoying e-mails ever since this morning, just because she thought I was staring at girl's breasts (which I totally WASN'T)

And to make things even worse, she even reported ( _totally-not_ ) my action to her best friend, Toujou Koneko. Now, as we had lunch together on the rooftop, Toujou blatantly refused to get close to me; let alone to talk in proper manner.

... To sum it up; this whole situation sucks.

"Neee~ Koneko-chan, please just tell me what your club actually is already~" Yui changed the subject and pleaded to Toujou with her formidable puppy-dog eyes.

Toujou just kept munching her sweets without even bothering herself to recognize Yui's question; a very clear sign that she didn't want to talk about it at all. Seeing that, Yui sighed in disappointment and dejectedly went back to eating her bread.

That honestly got me quite curious as well. Aside from her questionable clubroom we were about to explore yesterday, Toujou never struck me as someone who would enjoy being in a club. Mostly because she's so reserved and acted cold pretty much most of the time, I could never imagine her meeting up and socializing with friends in a clubroom.

... Then again, she could be acting like that just in front of me. After all, I still couldn't tell her impression of me even after a few times we had lunch together. Her poker face is just a little too good.

"Someday..." suddenly, Toujou opened her mouth and spoke with flat tone. "...You will know about it someday. Just... not now," she added briefly then immediately went back to her sweets.

Yui and I looked at each other for a moment before Yui got overjoyed and did the most usual thing she always does whenever she's overjoyed; hugging people 'till they're blue.

In this case, 'people' means 'Toujou', so I immediately had to stop her before she did something that would make Toujou change her mind.

...

... Something about her wording intrigued me, though.

She'd said, _'you will know about it someday'_ , not _'I will tell you about it someday'_.

… Why would she said that like we would 'inevitably' come across her club sooner or later?

* * *

XXXXXX (Weekend) XXXXXX

* * *

"Waaah~ Look at that, nii! That white dress is so beautiful! Kyaaa~ this pajama is so cute too! Uuhhh nii~~ which one do you think is better; this pink sleeveless dress here, or that light blue T-shirt over there? Ehh, but now that I think again, that white cardigan will be a good choice too."

I groaned. "Just pick what you want already, sis; so we can get over this quickly. This place seriously gives me vertigo," I huffed as I helplessly looked around.

Today is Sunday, and we were now shopping in one of the boutiques at the shopping district near our house. I dressed myself in a long beige pants, plain gray shirt under my old-looking black jacket, and lastly, my brown casual shoes.

Yui'd told me that these clothes make me look like an old man, but I still went out using them because it's still by far the most comfortable set of clothes that I have.

She instead chose a sporty-looking get up today; with her light blue sweater, matching shorts, striped blue knee-socks, cool blue sneakers with white stripes, and completed with dark blue baseball cap over her head.

As we walked here, many people actually stared at us, or mostly at her, and whispered between themselves. I really hoped that they're just complementing Yui, but instead I got a feeling that they argued about how incompatible we were when we walked next to each other.

Our first (and supposedly last destination) was supposed to be an art & craft shop, where we can buy Yui's additional equipment for her club. But instead, we're stranded here in the boutique, when Yui decided to take a detour. And honestly, three minutes in here and this place had successfully gotten me dizzy.

First of all, this place was full of women; starting from the customers, even to its clerks. That made this place smelled strongly like women; and for me who had never associated closely with any girl beside my sister, this atmosphere was a little uncomfortable, honestly.

The entire store's wall is painted with blindingly bright pink with many ribbons and other embroideries decorating them; adding more to the girly aspect of the store. Every corner is stuffed with girl's clothes and accessory, which dominated the store with many other bright colors.

And one thing that had been constantly catching my attention was the lingerie section, with a lot of colorful variation of female underwear that I definitely couldn't un-see.

...

...

... What? Don't look at me like that! For your information, I'm a perfectly normal 16-year old boy. There's no way a sight of female underwear on full display wouldn't at least attract me.

"Eehhh... but didn't you already promise me that you will accompany me shopping today?" Yui protested.

I sighed. "Yes, I did. But you said you are shopping for your club's additional equipment! I never promised I would go along with this extra shopping trip."

"Muuu~ Shinji-nii, you're stingy," Yui pouted in displeasure. "Do you forget that you owe me one because I saved you yesterday?"

I gulped and averted my eyes. As much as I hated to admit it, if she didn't interfere yesterday, I seriously couldn't imagine what would happen.

...

...

... In case you're wondering what we are talking about, here's some recap.

So, anyone remember about my promise with kaichou two days ago?

[ _"I will expect the answer_ _ **tomorrow**_ _, Kido-san."_ ]

[ _"Yeah, kaichou. Tomorrow, I promise."_ ]

... Yeah, that one.

So, yesterday after school, I ended up visiting student council room again. Of course, I came to give my answer regarding kaichou's offer for me to join student council.

... Well, at least that was the plan.

The truth is, I hadn't got enough time to really think about it. Because two days ago, after that whole fiasco with the perverted trio, I was busy with my part time job in the evening.

And even after I got home, Yui didn't give me any time for myself; by forcing me to listen to her constant rambling about her day, her friends, her club, and pretty much anything she could spew on a moment notice.

That seriously messed up with my resting time; which directly correlated to my thinking prowess.

Added by the great shock of Issei getting a girlfriend yesterday morning, I could safely predict that every decision I made that day would be under prepared and short-sighted.

So in the end, I braced myself and came to the student council room to ask for one additional day to consider my decision. Even though I knew doing that would risk getting me on kaichou's bad side again.

And surprise, surprise; it did.

Gosh, I could still remember how her piercing glare tore me from inside out. The way she just sat silently while occasionally tapping her finger to her desk in annoyance wasn't exactly helping my mental stability either. After all, kaichou hates people who can't be on time as much as she hates liar. (And I was BOTH of it, in this matter)

None of my comrades in the student council stood up to safe me. All of them could just helplessly looked at me in pity and apologetically prayed for my safety. (well, aside from one snarky bastard who seemed enjoying my misery with a wide grin; guess who)

Not that I could blame them, though. Even I would think hundred times over before trying to interrupt kaichou in her rage mode (and that's saying something; coming from me) It would take balls of titanium to actually try and tame the _rage-mode_ kaichou.

... which, my sister SOMEHOW managed to do.

As I was subjected to kaichou's death ray gaze, suddenly my phone rang loudly, which dissipated the gripping silence for a while. I checked my phone and found out it was Yui. So, I immediately excused myself to answer the phone.

Surprisingly, when I did, she immediately asked to talk to kaichou. How the hell she knew I was here and the exact right moment to call, I couldn't imagine. I tried to ask, but she urged me so strongly, I couldn't help but obey. Reluctantly, I gave my phone to kaichou; saying that Yui want to talk to her.

The conversation through the phone call went on for several minutes. For that uncertain several minutes I tried to calm myself, and also to guess what business my sister had with kaichou. Naturally, I hit a dead-end with both of them.

After a while, the phone call ended. Kaichou gave back my phone with a somewhat complicated expression on her face. Then, in one breath, she said...

" _I'll put this matter on hold for now, Kido-san. Just remember I will still demand your answer next Monday. Don't disappoint me."_

...and let me go home just like that.

Yeahh... just imagine how surprised I was. I was so overjoyed, in fact, that I immediately forgot to ask about what she'd said to kaichou to make her let me go. I almost go full _overjoyed-Yui_ mode at home and hugged my sister until she's blue. Of course, she scolded me severely after elbowed my jaw for that excessive action.

As the compensation for saving me, she asked me to accompany her to buy the equipment for her art club. In the spurt of moment, I automatically agreed.

… Look what I'd gotten into now.

"Heyy Nii~" Yui tugged my sleeve slightly. "Hasn't it been so long since we hung out together? Aren't you happy?"

I scratched the back of my head. "Of course I am…" I said. But even when I said that my mind couldn't focus at all.

I honestly was still thinking about the 'invitation to the student council' matter. Kaichou had given me a second deadline for answering it, and that is Monday, which is tomorrow.

I don't know why, but I felt the more I think about it, the harder it gets to determine my answer. Even though I already got a _once-a-lifetime_ offer, I still wanted to think things thoroughly before choosing.

... Sorry if that makes me look like an incompetent person. Maybe it's because I am.

Then, I looked over to Yui. She looked like she genuinely wanted to hang out with me. Seeing her like that, I felt a little tinge of guilt forming in my gut. I really didn't want to see her being unmotivated like this, if I can help it.

I breathed to calm myself. Well, I guess enjoying our weekend together by shopping like this wasn't going to be so bad. It's not like I wanted to stay home all day just to ponder about my problem. I also didn't have any other activity today to begin with.

Finally, I slapped both my cheeks. "Well, I guess you're right sis!" I grinned to her. "There's no use sulking about what have happened. Yoshaa~ if we're already here, might as well have some fun, right?" I enthusiastically said.

Yui immediately cheered up. She smiled brighter than ever. "If that so, you will buy this dress for me right, nii?"

I blinked. "Wait, what? Oh no… no no no. I didn't promise…"

"Nee~ Please, Shinji-nii?"

… Ughhh, here it comes; Yui's sure-kill move; Puppy-dog gaze!

To counter that move, I steeled my resolution. I put my hands on my hips and stood strong. "No, sis. You have your own pocket money. If you wa…"

I stopped my rant when Yui inched even closer to me. Still with her puppy-dog gaze, she purred adorably, "Please~ Shinji-nii-san~"

I took a considerable amount of damage. "Guhhh… bu-but the answer is still…"

"Shinji-nii-san~~?"

"Guahhh, umm… yo-you…"

"Pretty please~?"

"I-I… GAAHHH! FINE, FINEE! I'll buy you one! Just stop looking at me like that! Stop that damnable puppy-dog eyes!"

I averted my eyes in defeat and shouted after I lost all my HP. I ended up accepting her demand without much trouble.

"Yaayy~ thank you Shinji-nii! You really are the best!" She hugged the _still-devastated_ me in exaggerated manner. When she happily brought the dress that she wanted to the counter, I could only sob silently in despair as a large sum of my money got taken away along with it.

…

…

…

Shit! Damn it all! That move is seriously too OP! Hax! I call haxxx!

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"Waaa~ today's really fun! Aren't you enjoying it too, nii?" Yui stretched her body and looked at me happily.

In contrast, I slouched my back dejectedly and sighed in every 3 steps. "Yeah, good for you, sis," I retorted sarcastically. "After all, you're not the one who **paid for everything today!** "

Our trip around the shopping district today proved to be the doom for my wallet, because Yui insisted that the guy had to pay for everything in a 'date'. Starting from the boutique, we also visited restaurant, arcade, accessory shop, and lastly, a crepe vendor. By that point, my wallet was already pretty much empty.

"Seriously, we haven't even bought what we came here for in the first place and it's already this late," I looked worriedly at the sky that had started to turn orange. "We're really wasting our time here, Yui! Let's hurry to the art & craft shop before It's too late," I urged her to walk faster.

We walked together in haste for a few more minutes before Yui abruptly stopped and pointed to one direction. "Shinji-nii, isn't that your friend?"

I followed her finger and found... Issei and his girlfriend, walking together to the nearby park. Both of them looked so happy together as they're walking in silence.

"Hmm...they must be on a date," I concluded. "Well, we better don't disturb them, then. Let's go, Yui!" I called my sister to get going once again. But my steps were halted when I saw a naughty grin plastered on her face.

"Nee... Shinji-nii," she addressed me, still with that same playful grin. "Let's spy on them."

 _*BONK*_

"OWW! What was that for?" Yui cried out as she squatted down and rubbed her head in the place that I'd hit. I apparently had used more power than what I'd intended to.

"Why don't start thinking about YOUR OWN urgent matter before you start to think about messing with other people's date, eh?" I sighed in annoyance as I rubbed my knuckle.

"Muu~ aren't you curious about it at all, nii? Isn't he your friend?" Yui asked

"No, I'm not. And I'm not sure; it's still in the _status-quo_ ," I deadpanned. "One thing I'm sure is, I'm not letting you meddle with other people's personal matter before you're done with yours. Now hurry and haul your ass up before I haul it for you."

Yui sulked a little, but ultimately decided not to argue with me any further. She got up and together we walked to the nearest art & craft club. Luckily, the nearest one was located not so far from us, so we managed to buy all her needs; starting from the drawing paper to the new brush; right before the store closed.

We got out of the shop with all our purchase in hands. "Fiuhh... we're done. Finally, we can go home," I stretched my back and my arms as I said that.

"... You don't seem care about that at all aren't you, Shinji-nii?" Yui asked skeptically.

"Oh no, we're not talking about this again, sis," I sighed and told her firmly. "There's a limit about how much can someone meddle with his friend's matter; and we're not even really friend at this point," I explained. "Heck, why do you even care so much about this, anyway?"

Surprisingly, Yui blushed and averted her eyes. "I... I just want to know how to do a proper date..." she answered with small voice.

...

"Pffftt... sorry, what?" I almost burst out laughing at that. "My sister, Yui, is interested in dating? Wow... is this a sign of zombie apocalypse happening anytime soon?" I teased her with a grin on my face.

"... Shinji-nii, you're dummy," she sulked and walked ahead of me.

Seeing that, my grin subsided a little. I guess I was too harsh on her this time. After all, despite of her overall childish demeanor, Yui is also a girl. Of course she's gonna be interested in romance and that sort of things.

I scratched my head and walked faster to follow her. "Okay, okay... I'm sorry for that nasty comment, sis. I promise I won't..."

 _*NGGIIIIIIINNNNGGGGGG*_

"...Ugghhh, GAKKHHH..." Suddenly, a strange screeching sound blared in my ears. It was so loud I couldn't help but falling on one knee while covering my ears as hard as I could with my hands (but of course, with no avail)

After a while, the sound subsided; leaving me with my vision blurring, hands trembling, teeth clattering, and cold sweat profusely dripping down my entire body.

Now, if you're not me, you may think that sound as normally annoying. It's extremely annoying, but normal nonetheless; like when somebody decided to prank you by scratching a mirror near your face.

But not for me... because I know that what exactly that sound is. The exact same sound that'd haunted me every day back then in Tokyo.

And honestly, the thought of hearing that screeching sound ever again scared the living shit out of me. I could very much say that I was in a state of trance now because of it.

" _Shin..._

...

... _"No..."_ I shuddered. _"Please, no. Please don't say it's happening again."_

" _...nii!"_

... No... No, No, NOO!

"SHINJI-NII!"

"GARRGGHHH!" I instinctively cried out and jumped back when somebody gripped my shoulder and shouted my name. I ungracefully fell on my butt, and as the result, got many weird stares from all the passerby.

I tried to focus my _still-blurry_ vision to the one point in front of me. And there, I found Yui, trying to reach me with worried expression on her face.

"Ni-Nii?" She addressed me worriedly. "What happened? Why'd you freak out? Uwaahh... your face is very pale too." She then approached me with handkerchief in her hand. There, she patted my face with it to wipe the sweat. Only then I realized how bad my condition was.

I was still panting heavily like I just did a full marathon without a rest. My hands and feet were still trembling greatly to the point I couldn't even stand properly, and judging from Yui's word, I guess my complexion at the time wasn't so great either.

"Let's go to the clinic, nii. There's one not so far from here," she put my arm around her shoulder, then lifted me up with all her strength. But when she managed to stand me straight, I let go of her shoulder.

I then forced a smile. "I... I can go to the clinic alone, sis. I guess I was just too tired of walking around, after all. I will be better in no time," I said as I turned my body away from her.

"Wa-wait, Shinji-nii! I can..."

" **NO!** " I roared a little too loud at her face, causing Yui to stumble backwards. Her expression was a mix of surprise and fear. All the passerby once again looked at me strangely.

Realizing my fault, I tried to say sorry. But I could hardly do that as my heart was still beating too loudly against my ribcage. My hands were so cold I couldn't stop shaking.

As the excruciating silence continue, I calmed myself down and once again plastered the best fake smile I could muster at the moment notice. "Sorry, sis. It's just... ah, you need to quickly go home to prepare dinner, right? I don't want to bother you with this small thing. Besides, I'm starting to get hungry here."

Yui didn't look convinced, but after one long sigh, she decided to let it go. "If you say so..." she said, but quickly added, "...but please call me if something happened, nii. I will pick you up if something goes wrong."

Yui picked up all her groceries and after waving at me, walked away in sad manner. I felt really guilty for just leaving her hanging like that. But if I wasn't just imagining that sound earlier, bringing her with me would be a bigger no-no.

I steeled my resolution, and immediately ran to look for the source of that abominable sound. As usual, my instinct always does the job for me.

... And I froze when I found out where that source was from.

" _Oh Shit..."_ I mentally cursed. _"Shit, shit, SHIT! ISSEI!"_

Ignoring all the danger that might lay ahead, I took off dashing to the park.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

... Three questions right off the bat.

First; What is with my luck today?

I contemplated that as I ran with all of my strength. Seriously, of all days in these almost 3 weeks we're staying in this town, they decided to appear now. And right at the time when I'm going out with Yui, too. What's the odd?

Second; What's with the sky's color?

As soon as I got into the park, the sky suddenly turned darker. And no, not the usual 'nighttime' darker. Instead, somehow the sky had decided to paint itself amethyst with glittering light spread across of it today.

...

... no, I shit you not.

Three; Why's it so dead quiet around here?

I also could immediately sense something wrong was happening here. This place is too dead quiet for a public park in the Sunday evening.

As I was afraid something crazy might had happened, I sped up. The only thing that's rushing in my mind that time was how I can save the people and my friend if they're really getting kidnapped by the monster.

I tapped my back pocket, where I put my deck, as usual. Even if I'd already made my decision to use this once again if push comes to shove, I didn't think it would come _this_ fast. Besides, I'd figured if they really DO come, their first target would be me and Yui, not some random public park.

I just kept formulating a plan until I could see a fountain from in the middle of the park. But even from this far, I could immediately smell something wrong near that place. So, I changed my general plan from directly charging to stealthily moving behind the trees.

When I was close enough, I breathed and counted to 3, then peered at the fountain to find out what's happening.

... There, I had expected a 'monster' thrashing around. I had expected to see Issei or his girlfriend or anyone else getting harassed or even dragged into the 'other side'. I had expected a direct confrontation with one of those 'creatures' again. Hell, I even had expected a meeting with one of 'them' again.

... I certainly didn't expect THIS.

Near the fountain, stood a long and black-haired woman with cruel and outright sadistic expression; wearing the most impractical clothing I've ever seen. I have no way to describe that without mentioning how _lack_ the cloth in that 'clothing' was.

I mean, her top is practically just A PIECE OF LEATHER CLOTH strapped across her breasts! And she also only has a piece of what seems to be an erotic panties on her hip, that's being held around her waist by thin straps.

She wears gloves that covers up to her arms. Her shoulders support a shoulder guards with three large spikes sprouting on the right shoulder guard. And lastly, she has black thigh-high heel boots on her feet. All in all, her clothing looked like a bondage suit.

But as exquis...

... ehemm, as crazy as it was, what attracted my attention the most wasn't that. It's something on her back.

Sprouting out from behind her back, is a pair of jet-black wings. Yes… I shit you not. A huge pair of wings rest on her back like it's very normal. And judging from the way it REALLY flapped, I could tell you that it's not likely to be a fake.

She was smiling sadistically as she licked her lips, with eyes so dark and full of malice I almost winced just by looking at it. She seemed like she was talking to someone, so I stealthily inched closer to see what happened clearly.

… and when I was close enough to see who's she talking to, I almost hurled my guts out.

Laying not so far from her feet, was my friend, Issei. His eyes were wide open as there's a trace of blood running down his mouth. There's a (GRUESOME ALERT!) big, bloody hole in his gut; like he's just gotten stabbed by a very big pair of sharp blade. He's drowning in his own pool of blood as I could only get stunned at the gruesome sight.

… And at the next moment, I instantly lost my cool and forgot how to be stealthy.

"ISSEEIII!" I ran out of my hiding spot and shouted loud enough for that exhibitionist woman to hear me. Her expression got even darker as she turned her face to me.

... Why the hell her face could feel somewhat familiar?

"Haaah? Who the fuck are you?" That winged girl narrowed her eyes and rudely addressed me. Her voice sounded seductively sweet, even when it's brimming with bloodlust. "How could you go past my barrier?"

At the moment, I was too busy cursing myself over this overly stupid action that I didn't catch her saying 'barrier'. The only thing I could process at the moment was an instant regret about blindly showing myself like an idiot, as I still didn't know what the HELL was happening right now.

But I guess there's some time when my emotion got better of me. Rather than regretting it, I better started improvising now if I want to grasp what exactly is going on.

"Issei..." I mustered my courage and growled. "What've you done to him?"

"Oh, him..." She then nonchalantly put her foot on Issei's head. "I killed him."

Aaand... I snapped right then and there.

"You bastard..." I growled full of rage. "GET YOUR FEET OFF HIM, YOU BITCH!" I roared and charged her head-on.

... Probably wasn't the best move.

The winged girl just snorted and looked at me with contempt, before deciding to spread her wings and take off the ground with it. As the result, I lunged at empty air and embarrassingly tumbled across the ground.

"Ohh... now I remember," she snickered at me from above. "You're one of his friend, right? The first one he introduced to me." She snorted, then added with cold voice, "not that I care, though. You all humans look the same to me; garbage."

I managed to process some of her words despite the thick cloud of anger that was looming in my brain right now. I narrowed my eyes to look at her face more clearly. And yeah... despite her completely different facial expression, body posture, and voice, I could actually recognize this girl from her violet eyes, long silky black hair, and her overall voluptuous body.

"No way..." I muttered as the truth hit me like a fully-swung wrecking ball. "You're Amano Yuuma, Issei's girlfriend." I really hoped she would deny me, but she instead smiled sweetly at me the way Amano Yuuma had done before. "Yepp~ you're right, Kido Shinji-kun. Congratulations!"

I couldn't feel more devastated. "Wh-why..." I stuttered in disbelief. "Why would you do this?" I called desperately. Amano Yuu... no, the winged lady instead just nonchalantly shrugged, before her smile returned to the sadistic smile. "I don't have to explain anything to you, human. Especially since you're about to DIE!"

She put her right hand out like she's holding something. All of sudden, bright violet light came out of nowhere and focused inside her palm. In the next moment, she's holding a violet stake-like spear made out of pure light.

...

... I wish I was joking.

"Now that you've seen all of this, I can't let you live..." she stated that so _matter-of-factly_ , like she was about to kill a bug and thus felt nothing out of it. "Such a shame. If you didn't come and interfere with me, you'll actually be able to live longer." She said as she readied her weapon. "If you really want to blame something, just blame your fate for letting you witness this."

... and just like that, she threw the damn spear.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't in a daze. After all I'd ever gone through, I thought I'd seen all of the world's share of weirdness for my whole lifetime. But the thought of getting impaled by a blade made of light by a winged lady in bondage suit certainly never crossed my mind before.

Fear instantly got better of me, as I started to back away in utter panic. Unfortunately (or fortunately, in this case), I slipped on some pebble and immediately fell on my butt. The spear sailed past my head and stabbed the concrete behind me.

 _*JLEBB*_

I could only slumped down in fear and disbelief, as my feet totally refused to cooperate with me. Apparently, the sound of the spear impaling the ground right behind me didn't help my trembling feet to get better. My fear consumed me and almost made me do something stupid; such as asking for mercy.

Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, I got scared so badly. I felt like I was back in time; when I received my deck for the first time and got introduced to the strange and deadly whole new world. I felt so lost I didn't know what to do. Everything suddenly became so dark and cold. I could trust no one and forced to depend on myself for survival.

"Hooo~ you actually dodge that," the winged lady descended to approach me. "It can be either blind luck, or you're not as shabby as you look. Kukuku..." She snickered at me in pity. "It's such a shame, but I have to end this right now," she said as she pointed her shining spear to my throat.

In my frightened state, I managed to steal a glance at Issei. His body laid down near the fountain. I still couldn't believe he's dead. I was really tempted to slap myself awake, just to check if I was dreaming or not. Even if he's a pervert, nobody deserved such a fate.

But of course, I knew better. This whole situation itself felt too real to be fake. The spear she held looked so sharp, and the impaled ground behind me looked too real to be ignored. Issei's dead, and nobody could change that fact.

... and that thought boiled my blood to its very core.

"What is that?" the winged lady addressed me with a totally fake cute expression, it made me downright sick. "Aww~~ Are you crying? How cute. Not that I will let you go because of that, though," her voice once again turned cruel as she pressed the spear even closer to my neck.

I honestly didn't realize that I was crying until she pointed it out. Then, I could feel warm tears traced down my cheek. _"How pathetic of me,"_ I muttered inside my heart with a weak bitter smile across my face.

But at the same time, I promised myself that this will be the last tears I shed for Issei's death and for the feeling of helplessness inside my chest today. I had to finish all of this first before I could actually mourn for him.

My chest began to swell up in pure hatred. This bitch actually dares to play with human's life like that. She's just as bad (if not even more so) as 'that guy', who hosted the most dangerous free for all death battle that inevitably led to many innocent people deaths.

... They're both treating human's life like it's nothing!

"Are you... his..." I managed a low growl despite my still-trembling hands.

" **Haa?** What was that?"

"Are you... one of his minion too?"

"... What are you talking about?" The winged bitch growled in anger. "I'm nobody's minion aside from Azazel-sama! He's the only one who can give me command! Watch your mouth when you're talking to me; Raynare-sama, the great fallen angel of the Grigori; you lowly insect!" She lifted her spear and smiled sadistically.

"DIE, YOU MONGGREELLL!"

 _*JLEEBBB...*_

...

...

... _*trickle* *trickle*_

"Heh, is that so?" I managed a weak smile. "Then sorry, **I can't give a SHIT about who you are.** "

"Wh-what?" she couldn't hide her surprise when I, using my bare hands, caught her blade of light.

...

...

... at this point, some of you maybe wanna ask something like, 'How does it feel to touch a spear made of pure light? Can you actually hold it? Is it awesome? Does it glow and produce an epic sound effect like a lightsaber?' Etc, etc.

...

... To answer that question: It's sharp. And pointy. And sure as HECK burns. Personally, I don't recommend you to try this at home; or anywhere else, for that matter.

" **...** **I can't give two SHITS about what you are** ," I channeled all my rage into my power. I ignored the blood that's trickling down my hand and the searing pain that's burning my palm, as I drove the spear further away from my face.

"Im-impossible! How can you... ugghhh..." the bitch struggled to push the spear onto my face again. But with no avail, as somehow my power managed to overwhelm hers. Fear the power of rage!

" **... I can't give three SHITS about who you're working for,** " I glared at her with eyes full of killing intent, that made her winced and inevitably weakening her grip. Using this momentum, I moved my foot and kicked her right in the gut.

"ARRKHH..." She cried out as the kick blew her away, leaving the spear in my hands. Ignoring the terrible cuts and burns in my palm, I sluggishly used the spear as a support to stand up.

"The only thing I need to know is..." I threw the spear aside and slowly walked to Issei's body. There, I fold his hands over his chest and tapped his shoulder, intending to give him my power. I whispered something in front of his face, before turning my attention back to the crow lady.

I wiped my teary eyes, then roared like never before. "NOBODY MESSES WITH MY FRIEND, YOU BASTARD!"

I pulled out my own weapon; my blank deck, from my back pocket. Despite my hands were still smoking and full of blood, I managed to once again roared like a pro. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!"

The bitch coughed a few times, and then glared at me with an unadulterated anger and distaste. Then, she spread her wings open and flew to the top of the fountain. "Alright, now you really piss me off, you lowly humans!" She bellowed from above.

"I was just thinking to give you a quick and painless death, but now, forget that shit! I will torture you mercilessly, and you better hope you're dead before I'm done with you!"

She put both her hands into the air and projected two of those spears again. "PREPARE YOURSELF!" She screamed maniacally and threw the spears at me.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

... Just to be clear, I still got absolutely no clue what the heck was going on in here.

I mean, AS IF my life wasn't crazy enough before, one day a lady with black wings just decided to dive-bomb into it and killed my friend. Everything that's happening seems too crazy for me to keep up with (and that's rich; coming from me)

Even things that lady said just now didn't make any sense. Something about Azazel, that seems to be her boss... Grigori... and the facts she called herself 'fallen angel', which kinda make sense since she kept calling me 'lowly humans', as if she's not one herself.

... Then again, last time I check, humans don't have wings, don't go into a public place with a stripper outfit (opinion may vary), and MOST DEFINITELY don't produce a spear out of thin air.

But as much as I wanted to ask for timeout and a couple of minutes to sit down and let those crazy facts sink in, of course she's not gonna give me that privilege. The most I could do right now was finding a way to survive this onslaught; hopefully in one piece. If that's succeeded, THEN I could get into some Q&A session.

And to achieve that, I had to calm myself, formulate a plan, and look for the best chance to beat my opponent.

...

...

... which is a kinda impossible task to do when the said opponent just kept spamming her one impossibly OP skill at you.

"AHAHAHA~~ DANCE! DANCE FOR ME, LITTLE HUMANS!" She screamed sadistically at me as she threw a couple more sharp blades.

 _*JLEBB* *JLEBB* *TRAANGGG*_

This stripper maniac had been going on her rampage like this for about five minutes, which kinda felt like 5 years for me. She just kept hurling those shiny blades blindly in my vicinity; impaling benches and trees, destroying street lamps and vending machines, and cutting my arms and legs. Heck, some even close enough to almost stab me completely.

Fortunately, it seemed that my dodging skill hadn't been rusty yet. So, I could barely survive this five-minutes brutal onslaught without even one serious or fatal injury.

... But that didn't exactly mean the situation was leaning to my side, though.

"SHIT, SHIT... ARGGHHH!" I tried to dodge another spear hurled my way, but unfortunately this time I dodged a few seconds slower, and the spear successfully grazed my left leg. I tumbled across the pavement and slid a few meters away. But I couldn't even stop to groan at my scraped leg, 'cause when I peered at my assailant, she's already projecting another spear in her hand.

Seeing that, I sucked up my pain and quickly limped to a tree, then ducked behind it. I groaned in pain and quickly checked my bleeding wound. Unfortunately, only three seconds after catching my breaths...

 _*JLEBB*_

"Whoaa!" I yelped as the tree behind me got pierced through by a glowing spear, and almost hit my head. I clicked my tongue and immediately had to leap aside to avoid one more incoming spear that impaled through the same tree and almost stab me in the head as well.

"Arrgghhh... shit, everything's hurt..." I groaned as I shook my head lightly to get rid of the extreme nausea. The oxygen in my lungs was almost depleted, 'cause I couldn't even stop to catch my breath, like at all. Apparently, this overgrown crow's spear-projecting power doesn't come with a fair set of cooldown or limitation whatsoever.

... Now this... is what I'd call hax.

As a result, I'd been running, ducking, jumping, and sliding continuously without any chance to rest for this full 5 minutes. I'd been panting heavily while clutching my chest ever since. On the contrary, the crow lady didn't seem to be tired or weary at all. She's instead looked so ecstatic as she's looking down on me.

"AHAHAHA~ I wonder where'd your vigor from back then disappear to eh, you puny mortal?" She mocked me with condescending stare, while still leisurely hovering above. "Come on~ didn't you just brag about how you will make me pay? At least make this a challenge, would you?"

...

... As you've seen, the situation didn't go as smooth as I'd planned.

My plan itself was supposed to be simple. First, I'd lure her to the fountain, then after we're close enough, I'd charge at her while dodging some of her light spears. Then, I will tackle her down and thus made her fall into the fountain's pond. Once we're both in the water, I can use it as a gate to drag her into 'that world'.

I'd hoped when I'm in there, maybe I would get, at least, a slight 'home territory' advantage over her.

In theory: Decent Idea.

In practice: ...You've seen what happened.

Apparently, my adrenaline rush had made me forget to calculate the other small details surrounding that plan. As such, I could conclude that my failure was caused by three fatal miscalculations.

My condition. Her condition. The surroundings.

Despite the whole cool and uplifting 'I'll make you pay for killing my friend' speech I just spewed back then, it turned out just ignoring my scratches and the burn in my hand proved to be quite impossible. Plus, if you're being bombarded by shining, huge-ass spears like this, chances are you're not running towards your assailant without, at least, one of those things impaling you through the gut.

In fact, as soon as my adrenaline rush ran out, the rational part of my instinct immediately screamed at me to GTFO. My plan was instantly forgotten. Thus, I'd been running around the park without any clear purpose aside from staying alive.

... You may call me coward if you want. I just want to point out that running while dodging fast projectile coming your way at the same time is not something normal human without proper training and full safety measurement equipment should do; unless you're in Hollywood.

Even worse, my cuts and scratches were gradually increasing as the time goes on. My arms, legs, and even my face were fully painted with cuts and bruises all over. Some came from those damnable spears, and some others came from unfortunate series of tripping down, sliding across the concrete, and even the time when one tree's toppled over and almost crushed me flat. The cuts and blister on my palms from handling that spear without safety glove even looked so bad I wouldn't be surprised if my fingers started rotting off one by one soon enough.

(Pro tip: NEVER touch 1000-degrees knife with your BARE hands)

And EVEN IF my body was okay and in its peak condition, I also forgot to calculate that SHE CAN FLY! (Yes, how much stupid can you be to forget something like that, Shinji!) As long as she's still hovering 5 meters above me, forget tackling her into the water, I couldn't even reach her unless I 'transformed'.

... 'And why didn't you transform then, Shinji-kun' I heard some of you asking.

Well, aside from the fact that I need a reflective surface to transform myself (such as water), that question brings us to the last miscalculations; the surroundings. You see, I would have no problem just charging into the fountain and plunged myself into the water to transform.

Sure, I might become a beehive if I wasn't careful enough, but even if I was already weakened, as long as it's not a fatal injury, I thought I was still agile enough to dodge every single spear that was thrown my way. The fact that I could still standing until now without any hole or fatal injury anywhere on my body should've been clear enough proof for that.

The only thing that's preventing me from doing just that was in fact, Issei.

Though that winged lady (or Raynare, as she'd told me) had said that Issei's already dead, I still refused to believe it just yet. Because earlier, when I touch his hands, I could feel it's still slightly warm. Feel free to call me naive at this point. Heck, even I realized it's nearly impossible for people to actually survive an impalement THAT BIG through the gut for such a long time. But, I didn't want to lose hope just yet.

And even if he really was dead, then I at least wanted to keep his corpse in one piece and properly delivered it with a proper funeral. After all, his parents also need to at least see their son for the last time.

And thus, I'd been trying my best to avoid running around near the fountain, as I was afraid his body would get caught in Raynare's spearing frenzy. And it's not like I could just ask Raynare nicely for a timeout while I moved his body somewhere else. Hell, that would just worsen the situation, if anything!

... That's why I'm in this loop of BS right now.

"Aww~ Look at you struggling pointlessly, puny mortal," Raynare taunted from above. "It's almost cute, honestly. It's too bad I can't bring you home with me. You'll make a good slave and toy. AHAHAHA~" She laughed maniacally.

"Haha... _*cough* *cough*_ no thanks. Not interested in that kind of play," I struggled to keep standing straight while maintaining my weak smile. At this point, I couldn't be seen in distress or panic, or else she would use that opportunity to press me down even further.

I was still panting heavily and trying to formulate a plan to beat her at the same time, when one realization hit me. Raynare stated she's not 'his' minion, but is that also mean she doesn't know about him at all? If that's true...

"Hooy, Raynare..." I called her despite my lungs were still scarce of oxygen.

" **HAAA... don't use my name that easily, mongrel! You'll sully it with your filthy mouth!"**

"Do you know someone named Shinozaki Shirou?"

"Cheee... why would I remember a name of a filthy human? And DON'T IGNORE ME, YOU SHITTY RAT!"

" _... And by extension, she must be clueless about my power too,"_ I thought, small smile starting to form on my face. _"Great, I can use this!"_

" **I said..."** Raynare let out a low, scary growl. **"DON'T IGNORE ME, YOU ASSHOLE!"**

She formed two light spears and chucked them at me. Fortunately, this time I was ready as I already got a nice plan.

Even if my feet were still slightly hurt, I managed to dodge her spears by rolling forward. I then got up hastily. Ignoring her scream, I proceeded to run to the fountain.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN?" She shouted as she flew to follow me. "FOOLISH HUMAN!"

" _I have to timing this right,"_ I thought to myself as I desperately run from her. _"Not too close to the fountain, but not too far either."_

Raynare prepared another spear. "JUST DIE ALREADY!" and threw it at me.

" _Aaannd... now!"_ I deliberately dodged the spear just by small margin, and at the same time, I used every last bit of my power to jump into the pond.

"AARRGGHHH!" I faked a pained cry as I propelled myself straight into the water. I hoped by doing it this way, it would make my intention for going straight into the fountain a little less obvious. Plus, I hoped by pretending to be exhausted after being plunged into the water, Raynare'd stop her spearing frenzy for a while.

I gasped for air as I pulled my face out of the water. I peered at Issei and found that his body was still safe in the place we left him. I sighed in relief and leaned back to the fountain pedestal.

" _Nice, phase one done. On with the phase two,"_ I thought in the middle of my heavy breaths.

"Finally you're stop moving, insolent rat," Raynare hovered a few meters in front of me with a winning smirk on her face. "Unfortunately, I don't have anymore time to spend with you," she said as she hoisted her spear. "Any last word?"

...

"Pfftt... puh-PUHAHAHAHA" Suddeny, I let out an evil-maniac kinda laugh that made her narrowed her eyes. "What are you laughing about, mongrel? Have you gone insane?"

"Oh no... no, not quite," I squeezed out my best challenging smile as I stared back at her. "It's just... are you that scared of me?"

" **What?"** She narrowed her eyes even deeper and let out a feral growl. **"Me, a great fallen angel, afraid of you, a little human?"**

"Well, I mean... look at you, keep flying away and chucking things at me from a safe distance," I chuckled. "If you ask me, it looks like you're afraid of me, don't you think?"

" **You dare..."**

"Oh, and also... I can't stress enough how much you SUCK at chucking those spears of yours," I smiled teasingly to provoke her even further. "Seriously, you have one heck of OP hacking bullshit power, and you still can't even kill one, good old 'lowly human' fast enough. Heh, talk about incompetence," I made an air quote and snorted.

Raynare fumed and her eyes were bloodshot crazy. She snarled ferociously, and her body jerked like she's ready to pounce at me and bite my neck off anytime. It would take only one more push to finally make her snap.

"Wow, at this rate, I can't help but to pity this Azazel guy for having you... WHOOAAA!"

I threw my body aside as Raynare flew in with her spear ready. She pierced the fountain instead of my chest, making all the water spewed everywhere. With absolute bloodlust, she then grabbed me from the water and threw me back to the fountain's pedestal.

" **SHUT. UP. YOU. FILTHY. HUMAN!"** She screamed in frenzy as she proceeded to kick me in the chest repeatedly. I didn't do anything aside from putting my hand in front of my chest to mildly defend myself.

When she's done kicking me, she panted heavily and once again pointed her spear onto my face. Her snarl turned into one crazy smile. "Ha... haha... HAHAHAHA! I KNEW IT! I KNEW I SHOULD'VE KILLED YOU FASTER," she rambled like a madman. "YOU'RE JUST ONE PESKY BRAT. DON'T YOU DARE CALL AZAZEL-SAMA'S NAME SO LIGHTLY LIKE THAT!"

Even if I was hurt, I couldn't help but smiling meaningfully. "Hey, Raynare..."

Her scowl went even darker. **"That's why, I said..."**

"Thanks for cooperating."

Her scowl subsided a little. "What do you mean?"

Then, I did the crazy thing. In one swift move, I grabbed Raynare's spear despite the immediate sizzling sound of my hands burning, and yanked it down along with all my body weight. Caught off guard, I managed to drag her into the water beneath her. Then, ignoring the new excruciating pain searing in my palm, I pulled my deck out of my pocket.

" _*blub* *blub*_ PUHAAA... YOU BASTARD!" Raynare quickly recovered as she cried out angrily.

I then proceeded to yell out the magic word.

"HENSHIN"

 _*crack... cracckk... PRAANNGGG*_

... After that, our reality got shattered like a glass.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

" _ **Those who don't fight won't survive."**_

... I'm tired of hearing that word.

" _ **You will fight until there's only one left standing."**_

... I still can't accept your way of thinking, even until now.

" _ **Then, for what reason do you fight?"**_

...

... To protect... the innocents (?)

" _ **... Then, be stronger, Ryuki! Strong enough to protect those you want to protect!"**_

...

...

"GAHAHH... _*pant* *pant*_ " I startled up, then immediately gasped for air. After my breath was in order, I proceeded to analyze my surrounding.

"Is this re... OUCHH! Shit, my head..." I suddenly felt a stinging pain in my head, but when I was just about to clutch it, I got a glimpse of my hands and stopped.

... Or should I say, my _currently-armored_ hands.

Yeah, now my hands were encased in tight gray material resembling spandex. There's a piece of black armor on the back of both my hands, and the right forearm also supported a matching black arm guard. On the left arm however, my forearm was topped with a plain and rather bulky silver gauntlet.

I shook my head to get rid of the nausea, then tried to stand up. To my surprise (or not), I could stand up much easier now than I could a few minutes ago; like my body just got magically recovered. Hell, now that I think about it, my body also got lighter and my vision became clearer. I immediately felt I could bench press hundred kilograms all at once, throw a stronger punch, run faster, and jump higher than I ever could. All in all, I felt awesome! Like, 'someone-had-just-pumped-me-up-full-with-steroid-juice' kinda awesome!

I checked my reflection in the water, and I found out that whole my body was also encased in the gray tight spandex. My upper arms support some arm guard-like armor. There are shin guards on both of my feet, and my torso and back is protected by armor. The torso side of the armor is a thick and sturdy breastplate.

But the main focus of this armor was obviously the belt and the helmet. On my waist, there's a big belt that held my blank deck in place. My full-face helmet always reminds me of European knight in medieval times; mostly silver in color with its dimly glowing red eyes under the striped eye guard; and striped mouth guard protecting my lower face. There's one small red gem embedded on a silver lining on top of the helmet.

But despite the absolute coolness of my get-up, I couldn't help but I sighed in my heart, as I wasn't really sure whether to freak out or be thankful for this development. But if I could be sure of something right now, it was...

" _Yep, I'm back alright,"_ I smiled bitterly under my helmet, realizing that I just deliberately broke my lifetime promise to Yui. I hope she's not gonna find out about this anytime soon.

"Urghh..." I heard someone grunted from beneath me. I looked downward and found Raynare was kneeling and clutching her head from nausea. "... What the fuck is happening?"

I snickered as I was looking at her. I had to admit, it felt kinda refreshing to look down on her for once.

"Hey Raynare... what's wrong? Got a headache?" I said in completely mocking tone. Her eyes refocused on me, and as soon as they did, Raynare startled and flew back a few meters away.

"Wh-what the? What is that armor?" She started projecting her spear again and putting up her guard at the same time. "Is that some kind of sacred gear? No, there's no way. How can I not feel anything from you since the first time you show up?" She rambled in frustration.

"Hah, glad you're ask... Wait, sacred what?" I was about to start my exposition about this cool armor until one of her word caught my attention. "You know about this armor?"

"Chee... I have no time for this nonsense anymore. I have to quickly report this to Azazel-sama," Raynare clicked her tongue and starting to fly back even further. "You should be grateful, kid! While I want to play with that sacred gear of yours a little longer, I run out of time today! But remember, I will hunt you down and kill you by my own hand someday!"

I sighed at her declaration. Then, with one flat tone, I said "You won't leave anywhere."

"Hah, what you're gonna do about it, kid?" Raynare flashed a winning smirk. "You can't even reach me in this distance. What hope do you have to stop me?"

I face-palmed. "No, sorry... let me rephrase that. You CAN'T leave anywhere. Well, not in this 'world', anyway."

Her smirk soon turned into big question mark as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What do you mean by that?"

I shrugged lightly and gestured to our surrounding. "... See for yourself."

Reluctantly, she flew higher and took a good look of our surrounding. As she observed, her expression gradually turned from wonder to shock.

"Wh-what is this..." She stuttered with eyes wide open. "Where's the barrier I set up before? Also, that brat I killed before... he's gone too." Raynare face turned pale. "And... and why's everything..."

"Turned the other way around?" I finished her question. "Well, that's what you get if you see the world from behind a mirror, after all." I nonchalantly said as if that's not a big deal.

Now, if this world still works the same way as it does the last time I entered it, Raynare should've had seen the world the way people saw their surrounding through a mirror; everything is inverted. Also, since she's the only one I dragged into the reflective surface of the water, it's obvious that Issei wouldn't be here. He's still sleeping (I hope), safe and sound back in our dimension.

Also if what she said is right, it seemed her mumbo-jumbo 'barrier' that she put in the real world didn't get projected into this side as well. Though I realized the 'barrier' she mentioned here most likely was related to the strange sky's color in the real world, because in here the sky was normal orange instead of deep purple. I wasn't sure what it means, but I'd make sure to find out about this after I'm done with her.

" **Yo-youu...** " Raynare turned to me and grudgingly stared at my armored face. "What are you exactly? And what is that sacred gear? What have you done?"

I spread my arm in exaggerated manner. "I'd like to call myself Kamen Rider Ryuki. I still don't know what is that sacred-something you've been talking about. I trapped you inside the Mirror World." I stopped to breath. "Any more question?"

Her face contorted in rage, as she showed even more bloodlust. " **Trap me? You dare to...** "

"Spare me your nag, you exhibitionist bastard," I challenged her words as I glared back at her. "I trapped you in my domain. Deal with it." I said triumphantly.

"If you want to get out so badly, why don't you tell me about 'what in the hell are you exactly' and 'what in the hell is going on' in details? Oh, that, and also about this sacred-thingy you've been linking with this armor of mine. Plus, I'll still make you pay for killing Issei, you bastard!"

" **Don't get too cocky just because you managed to do something right just for once, you shitty brat!** " Raynare roared at me. "Just you look, I will cut you to pieces and then sew you back together, then cut you to pieces again," she smirked sadistically. "I'd love to see your expression when I gut your innards out!"

"Ohh~ I can't wait to show Azazel-sama that I manage to bring him one more unusual sacred gear for his research. He will be so delighted~" She blushed a shade of pink and her words were so full of admiration. Unfortunately, my feeling after seeing her like that was just a pure disgust.

"Heh, let's see about that, you overgrown crow!" I pumped my fist and muttered "Yoshaa~" Then, I took my stance. "Let's do this!"

We both let out our war cry and charged.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

I pulled a card with the picture of a sword out of my deck, and at the same time, Raynare lunged at me with her spear ready, screaming "DIEEE!"

Naturally, I rolled out of the way to avoid her assault. Then, I slid my gauntlet in the left arm down, and inserted the card into it.

 _*Psyuuu*_ **[SWORD VENT]**

"You can't win... GAHH!" Raynare yelped in surprise as a sword came down from the sky and slightly grazed her wings. The said sword landed perfectly and embedded itself into the ground in front of me.

" _Heh, nice!"_ I couldn't hold my grin when I pulled the sword out of the ground. It's still the same sword as the last time I used it a long time ago; a straight, double-edged sword with black hilt and red gem embedded on the base of the blade.

"Chee... using strange summoning magic like that. Don't get too cocky just because you get a weapon, brat!" Raynare charged viciously again.

This time, I didn't avoid her assault. Instead, I stood my ground and block her spear head-on with my sword. I literally stopped her in mid-flight and thus grounded her as well.

 _*TRANGG* *TRANGG* *TRUANGG*_

Her spear and my sword clashed a few more times before Raynare decided to draw back. Apparently, even though she could chuck those spears of her very well, Raynare wasn't really the best at wielding it in close combat. Hence, I could stand my ground and even overwhelm her pretty easily.

She panted heavily, but I surprisingly wasn't even tired at all. I'm honestly quite surprised my blank form could handle the battle this well.

"You bastard..." Raynare spoke in the middle of her heavy breathing. "How can you recover this much in such small amount of time? You were literally in half-dead state just a moment ago."

"I don't have to explain anything to you, shitty crow," I smirked while reciting the exact same word she'd said to me. "The only thing you have to know is you can't run or win against me anymore. Why don't you just surrender and start explaining already. You'll spare much of our time that way!" I pointed my sword to her.

"Me, surrender? HAAH... in your dream, human! Why don't YOU surrender and release me from this... this wretched place? If you do that, maybe I can consider giving you a quick and painless death!" Raynare didn't yield, and instead brandishing her weapon with wicked grin on her face.

I sighed as I pulled one more card from my deck; the one with a picture of shield in it. "Haaa... suit yourself, then. Just remember I've warned you."

 _*Psyuuu*_ **[GUARD VENT]**

I inserted that card into my gauntlet and held my left hand up. Soon enough, a plain, round gray shield came down from the sky and latched itself straight onto my arm. I took my stance with confidence. "Come on, then! Let's see how well you can fight!"

Raynare spread her wings and shot straight up into the sky. Then, she began assaulting me continuously with her shining spears again. But different from the last time, now I'm more than ready for her onslaught.

I easily blocked and parried every single spear that came my way to the sides. I stood my ground very well, almost untouchable amidst the load of spears that had been constantly rained onto me. I almost grinned uncontrollably under my helmet. I felt so unstoppable right now!

After minutes of constant assault, Raynare stopped and panted heavily in the midair. I smirked under my helmet after seeing that. "What's wrong, crow? Tired? Feeling ready to surrender now?" I used this opportunity to taunt her. "Hurry up! You don't get all day to think about it!"

She could only pant heavily as she glared at me full of hatred. I supposed she's almost at her 'limit' now. But as I realized she didn't have any intention to yield to me, I intended to give her one final push.

" _*sigh*_ If you really want to play it that way, suit yourself," I scratched my head and sighed. "I guess it's my turn to attack, then."

After declaring that, I lowered my posture, then charged toward her with all my might. Raynare gasped in shock as my speed boost caught her off guard.

"HAAA!" I jumped as strong as I could and managed to reach her thanks to my armor's power boost. I swung my sword diagonally onto her body.

"Kuuhh..." Raynare didn't even have a time to project her spear. Instead, she dodged my strike by floating to the side. After my aerial strike failed, she held her hand out to project another spear.

... But this time, nothing came out.

I could identify her shell-shocked face even when I was helplessly falling in midair. Using that opportunity, I immediately aimed and hurled my round shield to her; Captain America's style.

 _*DRAANGGG*_

"AARRGHHH!" Raynare shrieked in pain as my shield hit her right wing with deadly accuracy. She fell straight to the ground with a loud _*THUD*_ at the same time I safely landed on my feet.

Then I approached her.

"GAAHHH! SHIT, MY WING! MY WINNGGG!" She hollered in pain, clutching her seemingly broken wing. Usually, when I see somebody in pain like this, I will immediately be sympathetic with him/her, or at least feel pity.

... But this time, I felt nothing of sort.

"You lose," I declared with my sword pointed at her. "Now tell me everything."

"Yo-you bastard..." Raynare growled menacingly. "I'll NEVER YIELD..."

...

... Again, nothing came out.

"Wh-what?" Her angry expression was washed out as she thrusted out her hand for nothing. "Why can't I use my power? What's happening here?!" She desperately trying to project her spear with no avail. Her expression gradually changed from surprised to afraid.

I narrowed my eyes. _"Is it the mirror world getting her? Now that I think about it, she doesn't wear a rider armor, but her body hasn't shown any sign of being 'disintegrated' yet, even after being here for such a long time."_ I wondered. _"Is this mean mirror world disintegrating her... power first, instead of her body?"_

"... That's why I said you didn't have much time to decide," I said in a cold tone. "Mirror World is a dangerous place for hum... for non-rider like you. It's taken your power now. Soon enough, it'll get your body too," I half-bluffed with menacing voice.

Seeing Raynare's pale face, I could tell that my bluff worked. So, I proceeded. "In fact, I could just leave you rotting to die here. The only reason I haven't done that YET, is because I need you to explain WHY did you kill Issei," I threatened her. "So, start talking before..."

 ***RROOOAAARRRR***

 _*BOOM* *BOOM*_

Both of us stunned when suddenly we heard a very defeaning roar coming from afar. I instinctively turned my face to the source of the voice and found out that the sound came from outside the park.

And judging from the loud stomping sound that's gradually becoming bigger and bigger, it seemed like this thing was coming to us; fast.

" _Wait, is that a monster?"_ I gulped in the middle of my thought. _"Shit, judging from the voice, it seems to be a big one. There's no way my blank form can handle something like that. We have to get out of here!"_

"Oy, Raynare! Quick, we got... wait, where'd she go?"

When I found out that Raynare wasn't kneeling in front of me anymore, I automatically looked around for her. I soon found her, desperately running away from me; or maybe from that frightening sound.

"WOYY, STUPID! DON'T JUST RUN OFF ON YOUR OWN!" I called for her from my place. But as soon as I wanted to go after her...

 _*NGUUNNGGG… ZAP*_

Suddenly, one creature dived from above and snatched Raynare with incredible speed. It's so fast, I couldn't even see it coming.

"WAAA… what are you doing?! LET ME DOWNN!" Raynare could only screamed and flailed helplessly as the creature took her away. Now her power to create endless amount of spear had gone and her wing had broken, I guess she's not that much different from other humans, after all.

I blinked confusedly before the loud stomping sound finally snapped me awake. "What the... is that Hydragoon?" I identified the monster from its oversized blue dragonfly-like body and wings. "Two monsters from different order in one place and at the same time? What the heck is that Shinozaki Shirou thinking?" I furiously scratched my helmet as I grumbled.

 _*BOOM* *BOOM*_

"Arrghhh… shit. I got no time for this," I was about to chase the big dragonfly when the boom sound got even closer. So much closer, in fact, that I managed to catch a glimpse of the monster from behind the trees.

And I don't like what I was seeing.

Just from the oddly misshapen horn that was somehow sticking out over the thickness of the trees here, I could tell that this monster was HUGE. Its step now was strong enough to cause a small-scale earthquake. I also didn't like my chance when I heard a low growl that somehow resemble the sound of three monster trucks roaring their engine at the same time.

...

Finally, after some rather hurried consideration, I decided to just abandon the chasing and get back to my portal; that being the water fountain.

"... Don't hate me for this, Raynare." I muttered bitterly before jumping into the water.

 _*craackk... PRAANGGG*_

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

" _*blub* *blub*_ PUHAAA... Wooh, that was intense!" I let out a refreshed shout, because I was successfully transported back into the real world. In flash, I got out of the water, then take my deck and pointed it at the water.

"SEAL!" I yelled as the water seemed to glow for a second, before the glow subsided and back to its normal color.

After that , I tiredly sat in front of the fountain, then shook my head to get rid of the nausea.

But as soon as my nausea wore off, the realization kicked me harder than any light spear to the face.

 _"My God... is that really just happened?"_ I let out an exasperated sigh as I scratched my hair furiously. I mean, who wouldn't do that; when they'd just fought a crow-human hybrid cladded in bondage suit who's killing their friend with a spear made of pure light.

... God, even that sentence sounds incredibly wrong on so many level.

" _In the end, I got no explanation about her... or whatever her objective was...,"_ I clicked my tongue bitterly as I reminisced about what had happened in the last few hours.

... Or rather, made sure whether everything that had happened; REALLY HAPPENED.

"Oww! Ow, oww, OWW!" I winced and cried out when I deliberately pinched my cheek and my arms with all my might a few times, just to make sure I wasn't having a very wild dream.

And judging from the pain, I wasn't.

I covered my eyes with my hand and sighed deeply. Now I got a time to properly sit down and let all the crazy facts sink in, I immediately regretted doing it. I felt utterly lost and devastated, unable to comprehend which is reality and which is fantasy anymore.

The exact same feeling I got when I discovered the Mirror World back then.

I mentally started to list every new and weird vocabulary I'd heard today. _"Barrier, Sacred Gear, Magic, Fallen Angel, Grigori... the list goes on and on,"_ I sighed with eyes closed. I swear if I don't get an answer about what these things are soon, my head's gonna burst.

I literally didn't move for about three minutes or so, just sat down with my hand covering my eyes, trying to make sure how to properly deal with all these jumbled feelings in my mind.

... Which directly translates to; deciding whether to cry out loud, giggle uncontrollably like a lunatic, drown myself in the fountain, hijack a bus to take me to Alaska, or go home and shut myself in my room for the rest of my life.

Which were some very reasonable actions to take in these kinds of unreasonable situation.

" _Alright, stop. Stop thinking like this, Kido Shinji!"_ I mentally slapped myself. Then, I took a deep breath and slowly opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was the evening sky. Yeah, the _normal_ , orange-colored evening sky. Somehow, the sight calmed me down.

" _Oh yeah, in this kind of situation, it always helps to list every single normal thing that we can think of,"_ I remembered the exact way I prevented myself from having a mental breakdown back then.

Thus, I tried to think a bunch of normal stuff in my life. My school, my house, Yui, our chats, her home-cooked dinner, our shopping trip this afternoon, also my friends in the school; everyone from the student council, Kiba, Toujou and her obsession to sweets, and last but not least, the perverted... trio...

"Oh shit," I suddenly remembered. And this time, I couldn't help my tears because of it. "ISSEI!" I shot back up and ran to see him. I was expecting him still laying down at the same place I left him.

... And as if the craziness level wasn't high enough, I immediately found two more headache inducing problem in front of me.

"Wh-what? No way..." I gasped in shock when I found the park had been completely fixed and as good as new; without broken fences, toppled over trees, crushed benches, and exploded vending machines. Heck, now when I looked back, I just realized that the fountain had also been restored to its previous good state.

I immediately felt this ominous feeling swelling in my chest, like some 'supernatural' power had worked here to bend the reality and fix all of this. And judging from the paranormal activity that I just experienced, that's really possible.

But the most surprising thing was the fact that Issei had gone from his previous place.

I almost desperately called for him, when I remembered there's no way he could hear me in his condition. Then again, it's also impossible for him to get up and walk away, so I immediately stopped to take a breath and think after cooling down first.

"Is it possible that someone'd moved his body?" I muttered to myself. "Yeah, that's the most logical answer for this. Maybe somebody finally found him and took him to the hospital." I nodded to convince myself.

... Maybe you're calling me incredibly stupid and ignorant right now for blatantly ignoring the fact that something 'out-of-the-world' has obviously worked here, or thinking about 'logical' in the midst of this crazy paranormal shits. But right now, I'm in serious need of something normal to latch onto to make sure my brain didn't get fried for over-capacity.

"Maybe I'll go to the nearest hospital around here to find him. Hopefully, he can still be saved." I resolved myself and started walking to find Issei.

When suddenly...

"Shinji-nii..." I heard one sound calling my name from behind me, and I froze completely. Cold-sweat immediately drenched my back. I only knew one person who would call me like that, and the idea of her being here terrified me to the very core.

I slowly turned to find that person. And yep... it was Yui. She's looking at me worriedly while clutching her hands in front of her chest.

Silent swallowed us for a minute, as we both seemed don't know how to comprehend with this situation. The only thing that's racing inside my mind right now was, how f*cked I would be if Yui saw all of that.

"Nii, what are you doing here, looking like that?"

... It's exactly when she said that, I lost all the hope and my vision suddenly turned dark.

* * *

XXXXXXX (Issei POV) XXXXXXX

* * *

Crimson red...

That's the only color dominating my vision right now, as my consciousness slowly fading away.

"Thanks for this date, Issei-kun~ I certainly won't forget this~"

I recognized one sweet voice resounding in my ears. So sweet in fact, I couldn't help but being enticed by it at first.

But now, hearing that voice somehow felt like having a bucket full of poison being dumped straight into my ears.

"If you want to blame somebody, just blame the God for putting that sacred gear in your body."

One unknown word came out from her mouth. One word that I'd figured I wouldn't have to care about, because even as stupid as I am, I knew I was about to die.

...

...

...

Today was supposed to be perfect. I had a date with my girlfriend, Amano Yuuma-chan, today. I had planned this since days ago, and thus I was very excited about this. As this was my first date ever, I had trained by reading a dating site or magazine about tips & trick for dating, so I could at least not embarrass myself.

I'd also secretly hoped that if we managed to get through this date safely, I could be more... intimate, maybe, in my relationship with her. Because hey! What's the point of going out if I can't tap that boobs or ass, right?

Yuuma-chan wasn't disappointing me, either. The casual clothes that she wore today were absolutely good on her. We went to shopping district, and generally enjoying ourselves. I tried my best along the way to not showing any of my perverted tendencies (even if the sight of her cleavage is really too good to be missed), and I even bought her a present to commemorate our first date.

As the climax, we visited a park near the shopping district. There, I mustered up my courage and managed to hold her hands (Hurray for me!) I was so happy when I saw her small blush when I did that, indicating that she's enjoying it too.

We walked hand-in-hand for in silence for a few minutes, before we arrived in front of the fountain.

"Nee, Issei-kun, will you listen to my one wish to celebrate our first date?"

My heart raced so fast when I heard her saying that. After all, in this kind of situation, what else would she ask beside kiss, right? I couldn't help but blushing as I stood rigidly with a small grin on my face, while faithfully waiting for her word.

"Will you die for me?"

...

... And as fast as she said that, shit went down the drain almost immediately.

While I was still trying to tell whether I heard wrongly or not, suddenly the sky turned dark. No, not 'pitch black' kinda dark; but instead deep purple kind. The situation was so weird I couldn't help but gasping.

But my surprise didn't end there.

All of sudden, Yuuma-chan clothes got torn off completely and immediately got replaced by some kind of sexy, black bondage suit. There were also wings; big black wings sprouted out from her back. Her expression changed 180 degrees, from sweet and compassionate to downright cruel and sadistic.

But I, being a healthy 16-year-old teenager that I exactly am, could only stressed out how much that process would've definitely made me nosebleed and praised the lord to no end if the situation wasn't that much scary.

I mean, she was practically NAKED when that transformation happened! Her beautiful figure was being laid bare in front of my eyes! And her new bondage suit also didn't cover much, either. So of course, as a good and healthy teenager, I couldn't help but staring at her voluptuous breast, plump ass, slim waist, and...

... ehemm, sorry, I got side-tracked.

Anyway, after that very moment, I didn't really get what the heck she was blabbering about, until to the point when she project a very real, very big violet blade out of thin air. Then, immediately proceeded to stab me in the gut with it.

...

... No, I'm not joking.

I coughed up blood before finally collapsed. I could only stare at the nothingness as I kept hearing her spewing nonsense I couldn't care about. My vision was tinted red, and the pain in my stomach had started to turn into numbness. I honestly couldn't give a damn anymore.

... Until I heard my name being shouted.

"ISSEEIII!"

" _Wh-who?"_ I tried to speak, but my voice wouldn't come out.

I heard Yuuma-chan (or should I even call her that by now?) addressing the person who'd called my name aggressively. The next moment, I felt something roughly pressing on my head.

"GET YOUR FEET OFF HIM, YOU BITCH!"

 _*FLAP* *WHUUSHHH* *BRUUKKK*_

I heard a familiar guy's scream, though I wasn't sure who. Following that, the pressure in my head disappeared, and I heard something hit the ground very hardly.

I still couldn't recognize the guy's voice, even though I'm pretty sure I knew this voice somewhere. I again heard both of them talked to each other before...

 _*JLEBB*_

The wet sound of something sharp piercing another solid thing rang clearly from nearby. I heard another monologue, then another argument. Before long, I could hear a faint _*duakk* sound_ ; like someone'd just got punched; followed by a girl's shriek.

I wanted to call out for the guy to stop. I don't want someone to get hurt because of me, especially not someone I know. But the pain in my stomach and all the blood loss prevented me from doing anything. _"I'm tired of this,"_ I thought sadly, as I seriously was about to give up there and finally closed my eyes for good.

When suddenly... my hands were held by someone.

" _..."_ I couldn't do anything as my hands were folded on my chest and my shoulder was gripped gently. I also heard a small whisper directed to me.

" _Hang in there, man. I know you're tougher than you look. I'm gonna get you after I'm done with this problem."_

" _... This voice,"_ I pondered. _"Is this..."_

"NOBODY MESSES WITH MY FRIEND, YOU BASTARD!"

" _...Shinji?"_ I recognized that sound, though I never heard him letting out a guttural roar as scary as that one. It's someone from my school, my newest friend-turned-arch nemesis, Kido Shinji.

"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!"

After that, I could vaguely identify some curses, mocking words, and most importantly, a lot, lot of stabbing and breaking sound. I was honestly surprised I didn't get caught in any of them.

I still wasn't sure what was going on here. But after hearing Shinji's supportive words and his vengeful roar, a small determination started burning in my heart once again.

" _Dammit, I don't want to die like this,"_ I bitterly muttered in my heart. _"I still haven't done many things. I haven't had my first kiss yet. I still haven't graduated from being virgin yet. I still haven't touch any boobs or asses yet."_

" _But most importantly, I haven't thanked him yet!"_

 _*NGGUUNNGGG... WHUSSHHH...*_

All of sudden, I faintly saw a bright red light emanating from beside me. But as I was still too weak to move my head, I failed to see anything.

"You're the one who called me, yeah?"

Somebody suddenly talked to me. As my vision was still blurry, and I still couldn't move, I said nothing in response.

"Hmm... it's really you, after all," I could know from the voice that it was in fact, a female. Why would someone decide to talk to the dying corpse like me instead of freaking out or calling an ambulance or something, I don't know. It's not like I could protest to her too.

"And what's happening to this place? It's a mess," That female voice talked again. "Is it... your doing?" She once again addressed me. Once again, I didn't respond.

"Hmm... interesting," I could detect amusement in her voice, like she's looking at something funny. "If you're already strong enough too cause this much ruckus now, I guess your power is really special, after all."

Her slightly chuckling sound was accompanied by wind blowing past. Only then, I could identify one specific trait of this woman.

"Alright, now that you're about to die anyway, I will pick up your life."

Crimson Red Hair... fluttering majestically.

"Starting today, your life is mine!"

... And that's the last thing I heard before I fell unconscious.

* * *

 **And... another chapter done!**

 **Finally we're getting into the plot, guys! Wohoo!**

 **I'm very excited as I'm writing this, since finally our MC shows us his Rider form, even if it's only the blank one. I'm also sorry to say this, but Shinji will not regain his real, red dragon form for some time until somewhere in the middle part of the story. Please bear with it for now.**

 **As you can see too, I decided to customize Ryuki's blank advent deck a little bit. I will also do it to some other Riders in the future, mainly for Riders with only few advent cards. Because seriously, main Riders like Ryuki and Knight can have 5-7 cards including Advent and Final vent, meanwhile some minor Riders like Imperer and Tiger only have 3-4. It'd be very unfair for them if I left their decks as it is.**

 **I hope you all like this warming-up chapter. As for the next chapter, the shit will get real when our MC finally meet the ORC for the first time!**

 **Please feel free to leave a comment in the review page. I'd highly appreciate any critics or advises.**

 **Alright, I'm GEStorm signing off for now!**

 **Next Chapter: New Friend? New Threat?**


	5. Chapter 4: HtGCbPM (Abbreviation 101)

**Hello Guys!**

 **Long time no see! I'm really, really sorry it took me more than a year to complete chapter 4. I've got no excuse for that. Let's just say I'm being lazy again and move on.**

 **Anyway, this chapter turns out to be longer, FAR longer than what I'd expected at first. Not only that, I also couldn't cover as much of the canon as I'd originally intended to. So yeah, you can see I changed the title from what I had written in the last chapter.**

 **Anyway, as my apology, I'd like to address some of your question, my good reader who had commented on this story. I'll do it with the comment of my previous chapter.**

 **adislt: For his contract monster, I'm sticking with the original, my personal favorite dragon in all KR history, Dragredder. Why change what's already perfect, right?** **And I'm completely agree with you about KR Ryuki being the most mysterious KR series. Seriously, what Mirror World actually is, How it was made, Why Kanzaki Shirou have the power to access that world despite being normal human, How real Yui managed to change place with Mirror Yui, and that all were just a few of questions I have about the lore of this universe. That's also the biggest reason why I chose this KR to be crossed with DxD. I feel that this deep and complicated lore would get much more interesting if I try to intertwine it with DxD's vast and ever changing universe** **.**

 **reynardgautama: Thanks, man. I hope you're pleased with this chapter as well.**

 **Ultimate Kuuga: No, man. YOU are awesome! Thanks for the support.**

 **Reiji01: Yup, you're completely right, man.** **This matter is actually a piece of important information about my world building.** **Props for your smart commentary. But trust me, it's not some miscalculation or error on my part (at least, I don't think so) and relax, I don't intend to make the Riders too OP or anything. Instead, I make it this way as a balancing between the Riders and the DxD world around them.**

 **DriveMiracle: I'd love to see about that too. In fact, I already make sure every Rider in the canon Ryuki-verse get a role in this story. But honestly, I still can't find a way to slip Ryuga naturally into the story until at least the last part of the S1 anime (the Phoenix's engagement stuff). So well, you'll definitely see Ryuga, but probably not until the very latter into the story.**

 **Dragon Bone Z: I'd honestly intended to slip some of the canon monster plus some OC of my own, and this one is definitely an OC. But if you want to know where's my inspiration came from, it's actually from a game. The one released not so long before chapter 3 came out, that was all about exploring, hunting, and filled with big-ass monsters.**

 **Mega Float Guest: Your answer, my friend, is in this chapter.**

 **DB-19: Yup, it is his form without contract monster. His power is very limited in this form and he can't access any of his awesome weapons and final vent yet. Basically Kuuga growing form.**

 **Ryuga: Thanks, man! And yup, Ren will appear, still as Shinji's rival and unwilling mentor, Yang to Shinji's Yin. I can promise you that their interaction would be more or less the same as the canon.**

 **Rider: ADVENT!**

 **Anon 1 : Well, there's no specific important reason, actually. I just prefer calling him that way in my summary.**

 **Anon 2 : Hmm... maybe I'll try to implement that some day. Well, Ryuki is basically fire-based rider anyway, so it'll probably work just fine. Thanks for the suggestion, man. Highly appreciated.**

 **Crozz: It'd be somewhere after the first volume of the DxD Light Novel (Saving Asia's Arc). I won't spoil too much, but it will involve some fighting beforehand.**

 **Darkrider: Thank, sir. I hope you enjoy his reaction in this chapter.**

 **Anon 3: Pray SUPER diligently and you shall receive.**

 **Chaos Lord Roscoso: Well, you'll enjoy his reaction in this chapter then.**

 **Galaxy War: I'd have to go with straight no. That privilege will still only be owned by Ouja, and yes, that degenerate bastard will appear in this story. Heads up here, in my timeline he still haven't got any contract monster besides Venosnaker, as the Rider set was still complete here.**

 **Nomad118: Thank you, kind officer. Your service will always be remembered _*salute*_**

 **Zero-X: Interesting point here. I don't want to spoil too much, but actually, this version of Shirou have different 'agenda' with Yui, so he wouldn't make any move for now. Aside from, you know, stalking her through mirrors like what he always did in the canon.**

 **CrappyIdiots: I TOTALLY agree with your point here, sir. Shinji's strong exactly because he's a human here. Don't worry, I won't let him join the dark side.**

 **Anon 4 & legillius: Very sorry for the wait, my kind readers, and thanks for always reminding me. Here's your very late dose of Fanfiction.**

 **Anon 5: Thanks for the compliment sir. Regarding the Survive card, no, he haven't had it yet in this timeline. Don't worry though, as I assure you I will still implement the Survive form. Hell, maybe I'd also get creative and designed my own Survive form for some Riders. KR Ryuki already has a lot of unused Survive Form for many of its Rider, so just a little tweak here and there plus a lot of imaginations in designing the weapons and abilities, and voila, new Survive Form. Anyway, look forward to it!**

 **Was that all? Okay then, moving on!**

 **As usual, I'm sorry if there are some grammar or spelling errors along the way. I hope everyone enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Ryuki or High school DxD.**

* * *

Chapter 4: How to Get Catfished by Psychotic Murderer

* * *

 _*ZARAZARAZARA...* *GAZAGAZAGAZA...*_

 _*TRAANGGG* *KLAANGG*_

"Ughh... damn it! There's too many of them!" One figure said in frustration, all while desperately blocking his opponent's giant scissor-like weapon with shield on his left hand and slashing the other enemies on his right with curved sword at the same time.

"Stop whining and start stabbing! These monsters aren't going to perish by themselves!" Commanded one figure in dark blue. He's at the time also busy stabbing and slashing the gazelle-like monster's attack, while at the same time swiftly dancing around the battlefield with incredible agility.

After a few minutes, the dark blue figure finally managed to land a solid hit on his opponents' left thigh; making him tumbled and let out a shrill cry. Using that opportunity, he kicked his wounded opponent on the chest and sent him flying onto the rest of the monsters.

Then, he strategically jumped back, and after managed to get some distances, shouted to his comrade. "Oyyy Kido, close your ears!" and proceeded to slide one card out of the deck that's strapped to his waist like a buckle.

"WAIT... urghh, get away from me! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" The red figure shouted back to reconfirm his partner's word after bashing one monster's head with his shield; as he couldn't hear anything in amidst of his own heated battle.

 _*Psyuuu*_ **[NASTY VENT]**

Ignoring his partner's yell, the dark blue figure slid the card into the sword that's hanging on his belt. Soon after, a gigantic, mechanical-looking black bat suddenly came out of nowhere and started screeching so loudly onto his opponents' vicinity.

As the result, all the fight stopped immediately, as all of them instinctively covered their ears to avoid that supersonic screech; rendering them immobilized for a while.

"ARRGHHH... GODDAMIT REN, YOU BASTARD!"

...

...

... Naturally, 'all of them' meant including that red figure as well.

"I told you to cover your ears," The dark blue figure nonchalantly said as he pulled another card out his deck. This card was shiningly bright blue in color with a golden bat-like symbol inscribed on it.

"This time, move out of the way!" He shouted as he put that card into the opening handle-guard of the sword on his belt again.

 _*Psyuuu*_ **[FINAL VENT]**

After that robotic announcement, the dark blue figure and the black bat's body started glowing an intense dark blue. Then, the dark blue figure gripped his lance and ran towards the horde of enemies, with the black bat descended and perched itself on his back; its large, leathery wings transformed into an epic long cape. With it, he jumped high into the air.

"HOYYY REN, WHAT THE HECK WAS... tha..." The red figure who'd just snapped out of his daze, suddenly paled as he saw his partner rose higher and higher into the air.

"O-o-oyy... Ren-san, I-I'm still here, you know?"

When he'd reached the highest point, the dark blue figure quickly pointed his lance downward; parallel with his leg. At the same time, his cape wrapped his whole body in a form of drill pointed downward.

"He-heyy, you gotta be kid..."

 **[HISHOUZAN]**

The cloth-formed drill now started spinning and descended with tremendous speed onto the horde of monsters. Fortunately, the monsters were still in deep confusion, so there's no way they could get out of the way.

But unfortunately...

"Oh, for fu... GYAAAHHHH!"

 _*JRRAASSS... KA-BLAAMMM!*_

The drill successfully pierced through one of the monsters, exploding it upon contact. The blast radius it caused was wide enough to immediately wipe out the entire area of monsters. Then, in amidst of the smoke and fire, two figures; one humanoid and one giant mechanical bat, emerged victorious.

At the same time, shining gray orbs also floated out from the smoke in the exact same number as the monsters defeated. After one flick of a finger from its master, the giant bat immediately flew and 'consumed' all of them.

"Four monster essences acquired," the dark blue figure smirked lightly under his helmet. "Good catch. Now, let's..."

"NOT SO FAST, YOU ARSEHOLE!"

...

...

...

He sighed deeply, knowing that there would be another long session of argument between them. When he turned his body to find the source of that voice, he expectedly found his annoying 'self-proclaimed' partner standing there, fuming like crazy.

"Don't you have something to say to me after nearly SENDING ME INTO OBLIVION huh, you damn prick?" The red figure said as he's tapping his foot onto the ground. His popping veins were somehow completely visible even if he's wearing a helmet.

The dark blue figure scoffed in completely mocking tone. "At least you're safe, right? Stop complaining about small details already," he nonchalantly said. "Also, I'm not sharing these essences with you, if you're going to ask for those. I'm the one who killed them all."

"I've told you already! I don't care about that creepy monster's soul or essence or whatever the hell that was!" The red figure once again yelled at his comrade. "I just need you to stop being such an anti-social git for one goddamn day and work with me for every once in a while! We wouldn't be in such a peril this time if you just listen to my plan!"

Again, his rant was answered by a loud snort. "Hmph, you and your delusional plan. Besides, I've already told you that I can do this all by myself. You're the one who forced to come with me. It's not my fault you're in my line of sight when I'm Final Vent-ing them."

Hearing that, the red figure couldn't help but face-palming as hard as he could. "... You know, this is the exact reason WHY you're suck; BIG TIME at making allies. Because you just keep trying to push them off the cliff when they're trying to be nice to you," he shook his head slowly and sighed in defeat.

"Besides..." suddenly, the red figure's voice turned serious. "...You know I couldn't just ignore this problem any longer. Those 'Zelles' have terrorized people in this area for too long. We don't even know how much people have been kidnapped and even killed under our nose," his voice turned more and more bitter and guilty in every sentence.

"Tch... what a useless naiveté, as usual," the dark blue figure clicked his tongue in distaste. Then, he forcefully grabbed the red's armor and brought his face closer to his; staring deep into his helmet.

"Listen, Kido, there's no place for the weak in this world! If you keep hoping that your naïve way of thinking can safe everybody, you'll someday end up getting stabbed in the back," he threatened maliciously.

"Heh, in fact, maybe I will be the one to drive my sword into you when the time's come. After all..." he then let the red's armor go, but suddenly grabbed the sword on his waist and in one perfect swift movement, pointed it at the red's throat.

"...there will be only one Rider to survive 'till the end."

The red said nothing for a while, just staring back at the dark blue's face in silence. Finally, he lightly scratched his helmet and chuckled, as if there's no sword pointed at his neck.

"Hehe… thanks for worrying about me, Ren, but I've already made up my mind. I won't let this ridiculous battle took anymore live of the innocents. After all..." he then confidently extended out his fist onto the dark blue's face.

"...I will stop this Rider War and all the senseless killing altogether."

Both of them stood their ground and didn't back off even a bit. They stared deep into each other's eyes, as if declaring that their ideal; righteous or not, impure or not; was the one that they would not give up from achieving, even if they had to die for it.

...

...

" _ **It's still not too late"**_

 _ **"To change all of this"**_

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

...

...

"Ughh... what the hell was that dream?"

The first thing I felt after waking up was intense muscle pain and terrible headache. My body felt absolutely heavy, like I'd just slept while being buried under wet sand. When I clutched my head, I found a wet towel being laid there. I tried to sit upright, but the pain ultimately prevented me from doing that. Leaning on my pillow was the best position I could get into.

Somehow, my whole arms and feet were covered in bandages. My face was filled with plaster on various places, and my forehead was tightly bandaged as well. I felt like some kind of mummy; except with hair jutting out of his head.

"Suck, everything's hurt... OUCHH!" I immediately flinched as pain shot up my heavily-bandaged feet when I tried to move them. I couldn't do anything except laying back down after series of grunting to avoid further pain.

I sighed and put my hand over my eyes to lessen the dizziness. "Ugghhh... shit, what the heck's happening exactly?" I muttered dejectedly as I tried to refocus my blurry memory, in order to find out why'd I sleep with bandages covering most of my body.

... Until I heard a knock on my door.

"Nii, are you awake? What was that sound?" My little sister, Yui, opened the door and peered inside worriedly. In her hands was a washbowl full of ice water. She looked so tired for some reason. I could also faintly distinguish black bags under her eyes; clearly indicating lack of sleep.

"Aahhh... You still can't move, nii! Your wounds will get opened again!" She scolded me while trying to fix my blanket. Then, she took the dropped towel and put a new one on my forehead after dipping it into the icy cold water.

"Aaannd... done!" Yui patted my forehead and smiled in satisfaction. "Now, I will change the bandages. This is gonna sting a little bit. Bear with it for a while, 'kay?"

After saying that, Yui worked patiently; replacing every dirty white cloth surrounding my arms and feet with extreme caution. She's generally quite in the process, which I took as weird, because usually whenever I go back home with even the slightest scratch, she would scold me continuously for at least an hour.

"Yui..." I whispered in order to break the awkward silence. "...about these wounds... umm..." I stuttered to find the right word to say, but my tongue was as much in mess as my mind right now.

"Shuushh…" Yui put her finger on my lips to shut me up. "Let's talk about this later. You still have to sleep for now."

Even though she tried to look and sound calm, her expression was pretty much failing her right now. Confusion, bewilderment, and small hint of fear all clogged up on her face. It's like she had an idea what was happening, but was too afraid to hear it directly from me.

She's deliberately dodging the topic again.

My feeling was ironically torn between relief and guilt. Relief because I didn't have to explain anything too much complicated right now, and guilt because I once again had to lie to her.

In the end, I reluctantly slumped back onto the bed, but as my mind was still spinning at top speed, I couldn't rest at all. Finally, after a brief thought, I decided to just jumped into the matter.

"Yui..." I slowly got up again and whispered weakly. "What happened yesterday? I mean… when you found me."

Reluctantly, she started explaining. How she met me standing all alone in the middle of the park, and how I suddenly collapsed after seeing her. In panic, she approached me and found out that I had a high fever, probably because of the severe blood loss caused by scratches and cuts all over my body, and further worsen by being completely drenched from head to toe in the open field.

She immediately called for ambulance and hauled my unconscious body to the nearest clinic. I was treated for a while, before finally getting dispatched soon after the doctor said that I was okay. None of my wounds were too deep to cause any major problem, even if the scar maybe would last for a long time.

Her explanation also slowly jogged my memory about what happened exactly before she met me there. Honestly, I immediately felt like throwing up and getting an extreme case of vertigo because of it.

"You were unconscious all the time, nii. I'd thought..." She bit her lips in desperate attempt to hold back her tears. "... I was afraid you won't wake up anymore."

I flinched at that spectacle. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate seeing my sister cry?

"I'm sorry..." was the best word I could say right now. "It's just... I was just..." I tried to find the best excuse to explain the situation; one that wouldn't make me sounded like a complete lunatic. But honestly, my mind and mouth were both completely numb.

While I was thinking, suddenly I felt a pressure on my arm. I peered downward, and found Yui there, hugging it tightly. Her eyes were cloudy, and her lips twitched a bit before she finally mumbled something so faintly. _"Thi... won't hap…, right?"_

"Eh, what was that?"

"This won't happen again, right, nii?" Her teary eyes stared at me. "You... you promised, right? That you... that we will be safe here. You said you will stay with me forever. You won't leave me alone anymore, right?" She clung even harder onto me as she pleaded.

After almost a full minute of excruciating silence, I finally managed to squeeze words out of my mouth. "Yeah... yeah, of course sis," I said, with probably not the most appropriate expression, because Yui didn't look really convinced.

"I was just... playing around yesterday. Yeah, that's it! I was just messing around in the park when, umm... ah, a bunch of armed bad guys came to rob me. Of course, I resisted as strong as I could, but they managed to throw me into the fountain once. Hahaha, it's actually very lucky that I managed to beat all of them, you know?"

...

...

... I fully blame my fever for that stupid and utterly ridiculous set of excuses.

"Umm... anyway," I was eager to change the topic. "I think I'm already okay now. Let's just... urghh!"

"Waaa, stupid! You still can't move yet!" Yui immediately panicked when I flinched in pain as I tried to move my body. "You have to rest at home for today, Shinji-nii. Your body's still not in any condition to move yet."

"What?! No, no, no! I can't do that!" I almost yelled in agitation, which naturally got me a weird look from Yui. "I have to... I got something important to check today."

" _Or better yet, someone."_ I added in my mind.

"Haaah... But you still can't move, can you?" Yui sighed. "Just be a good boy and rest for today, nii. As for that matter, I will handle it all, so you don't have to worry about that anymore."

...

...

... huh?

"... What do you mean by **that**?" I asked warily as I was sweating bullets. _"Is it possible... that she saw what happened to Issei yesterday? No, if she really did, she wouldn't be..."_

"Huh? Why do you ask again?" Yui responded while I was panicking internally like she's talking to an amnesiac. "Do you forget that you've already told me about your business with the student council? Today is your last day to give Sona-kaichou your answer, right?"

...

...

"O-oh-ooohh... yo-you mean **that** matter..." I breathed a sigh of relief. That made Yui once again stared at me weirdly.

"Of course I mean that matter. What other matter do you think I meant?"

"N-no, nothing important," I quickly averted my eyes to avoid further questioning. "Anyway, it'll be very helpful if you can go and greet them on my behalf, Yui. Also, please tell kaichou that she'll hear from me as soon as I'm well enough to attend the class again."

"Alright, alright, I got it already," She brushed me off. "Now, rest, nii! I already left you your breakfast and medicine on the desk. Oh, and your lunch is in the fridge. Just reheat it when you want to eat. I maybe will be home late because of my club today, but I don't want to see you wandering around the house looking like a zombie when I do, is that clear?"

I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. _"Fiuuhh, everything's good for now, I guess?"_ I thought. While I was fully aware that I most likely wouldn't be able to keep this matter from her forever, since Yui was always good at gouging the truth out of me, I still wanted to keep it a secret for as long as I could.

Or at least, until I could wrap my head around the situation myself.

"Alright, you fussy little sister. Be careful on the way. And before you go, please, for God sake, wash your face. You look horrible," I flashed her a grin, and she replied by sticking her tongue out at me.

Finally, when Yui's just about to go out of my room, she suddenly stopped in front of the door, then reluctantly peered at me.

"Nii..." she whispered from her standing place. "... You really won't go anywhere, right? You will stay put here for today, right?" Her small worried voice resounded in my room.

"Haa… are you mocking me now, sis? Of course I'm not going anywhere. My legs are still pretty much useless here, you know?" I said with small hint of annoyance.

She blinked a few times. "Ah... oh... umm, yeah, you're right. Sorry for asking stupid question, ehehe..." Yui chuckled unsurely. "Well then, I'm going, nii! Bye-bye~" She then waved at me and closed the door, leaving me alone in my room.

... Unbeknown to her; under the sheet, my fingers were crossed all the time.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate being helplessly bedridden?

... Well, now let me tell you that I HATE being helplessly bedridden when I got something very urgent to do, ESPECIALLY if that 'something' was a life-threatening matter.

And lucky me, that's exactly what I had to endure this entire morning.

My head felt so heavy and constantly hurting; it's like there's someone banging it repeatedly with a baseball bat. No matter how hard I tried to move my limbs, they ultimately refused to obey me. I repeatedly cursed this useless body of mine every time I failed to get out of the bed.

Heck, even reaching for a glass of water on the side table beside my head could somehow be so frigging difficult, for swivel sake!

If that wasn't bad enough, I also couldn't stop thinking about Hyoudou Issei, my perverted (former?) friend. The fact that he just disappeared yesterday genuinely worried me. Moreover, his condition that time certainly could be classified as 'critical', which of course worried me even more.

In fact, he was my only reason to keep trying to get up from the bed this entire morning, even if my clear inability to do so.

…

Okay, before some of you starting to make any idiotic misunderstanding or random inappropriate innuendos; no, I'm not thinking about him in any weird manner.

...

… Then again, I guess the thought of me having that kind of 'imagination' toward Issei would be FAR LESS CRAZY than the one that had been running inside my head right now.

In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, please spare my sanity and just read the previous chapter. Just a little warning though: It's not for the faint-hearted. It still cost me a few brain cells just to remember it.

There's no way in hell I'm gonna recap it here. Moving on!

Anyway, my miserable morning ended up with miserable me being miserable. I could do nothing except rolling around in my bed and groaning like a hungry seal with sore throat.

Occasionally, Yui would text me; just to make sure everything was fine. She also asked whether I'd already eaten my breakfast, or was there anything she could do for me.

When she mentioned that, I was tempted to ask her to go to Issei's class and ask his friends whether they knew about his whereabouts, his condition, or at least where his house is so I could go there myself and ask his parents about it.

The problem is, I'd experienced dealing with this kind of dangerous situation many times before (more times than I'd like to), and from that, I knew that it's a big no-no to let anyone close to us know about this matter, as we risked dragging them into this mess as well.

Finally, after recalling yesterday's 'bizarre' experience; along with resisting an urge to rip out every last strain of my hair ( _#_ I'mTotallySane), I ultimately chose to keep silent.

Besides, there's no way I'm letting Yui meet Matsuda and Motohama by herself. I won't risk my sister's safety (and possibly chastity) just for some information, no matter how important it might be.

Luckily, it turned out that I didn't have to do that after all, and that's because the supposedly-in-danger person I'd been looking for suddenly called me; sounding pretty much okay.

…

… Needless to say, that call also turned out to be one crucial trigger that started yet ANOTHER chain reaction of absolute madness.

One which involved an attempted murder by a gothic lolita, painfully long exposition about Holy Bible, and as the cherry on top, me tactically pissing off some unholy beings.

Hooraaayy!

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"Alright… here we go," I breathed loudly as I prepared myself. Then, I started to move my body. "Aarghh... hell yes! Finally!"

… Here I am; Kido Shinji, your average high school guy who'd seen some pretty messed up stuff in life, finally was able to get off of the bed for the first time today.

When I peered outside the window, I immediately figured out that it's already past noon. The school's probably about to end already.

"Now, first thing first, I gotta find Issei's home," I murmured to myself; formulating a plan. _"I can ask Matsuda and Motohama about this. Hopefully I still can catch them before they leave the school."_

Even though I still felt a little bit light-headed, I took the bandages and plasters off my face. Then, I changed into my school uniform to blend in with other students and avoid too much attention. I was ready to go when suddenly my phone rang.

" _Huh, must be Yui again."_ I thought as I reached my phone. Maybe she wanted to check my condition again, along with telling me that she's gonna come home late because of her club, as usual.

I breathed deeply, after deciding to lie once again. But as soon as I peered at my phone's screen, my face froze.

There, the caller was displayed as 'Hyoudou Issei'

…

…

Needless to say, my jaw immediately dropped to the floor. After what happened yesterday, I'd figure that he must be still in a hospital somewhere, in a state of coma AT BEST.

I'd refrained from calling his phone the whole morning because I was afraid it would complicate the matter with his family, especially if they know I KNOW about what happened to him.

And now he's calling me?

I gulped nervously, and after some serious consideration, decided to answer the call.

"H-he-hello…" I stuttered.

[ _"Hey dude. Eeermm... you sound weird. Are you okay? I heard you got a fever today."_ ]

…

…

... For the first time in my life, I felt an unbearable feeling of relieve power-washed over me simply after hearing someone's voice over a phone call.

[ _"… Hey, Shinji, are you still there? Why didn't you answer? Hooyyy… are you okay?"_ ] The voice called again.

"Yo-you… _*sniff*_ You're okay…" Tears slowly flowed down my cheek before I even noticed. In extreme happiness, I didn't even bother to wipe them away.

"Thanks God _*snort*_. Really… _*sniff*_ thanks God…" I kept muttering incoherently while sobbing. My eyes were stinging red and I couldn't stop snorting, but at the moment I couldn't be any less concerned

…

… Yes, I admit. I cried. Hard. Who wouldn't when they figured out their friend survived after getting brutally skewered through the gut?

[ _"Wow, wow… dude, are you crying?"_ ] Issei's panic voice resounded from the other side of the phone. [ _"A-are you hurt? Do you need help? Wait there, I'm gonna…"_ ]

"No, no, I'm fine," I finally wiped my tears and snot. "It's just… you're safe," sigh of relief escaped my mouth. "How's your condition? Are you fine enough to have a phone call now? Are your parents with you right now?"

[ _"… Huh?"_ ] somehow, Issei sounded unsure. [ _"The hell are you talking about, man? What do you mean 'I'm safe'? Aren't you supposed to be the sick one here?"_ ]

…

...

... Eh?

"Wh-what?" I stuttered confusedly. "Of course I'm talking about your wound! You're injured, right?! Stop joking around!" In bewilderment, I accidentally lashed out at him.

... What the hell is happening here?

[ _"Woah, calm down, man!"_ ] Issei called out. His voice was as puzzled as mine. [ _"I'm not injured at all! I'm as healthy as I'm ever be. A little light-headed this morning, sure, but fine nonetheless. I don't understand what you're talking about right now."_ ]

...

... Impossible. It can't be.

"I-I-Issei…" I fumbled so bad even though I spoke slowly. My face was thoroughly drenched in cold sweat at this point. "Where are you now?"

[ _Wh… of course I'm at school. What's with the strange questions? Where do you think I…"_ ]

 _*BRUUAKKK*_

[ _"WHOOAA man, what's that sound? Are you okay? Hey, Shinji… heeyyy…"_ ]

My legs gave up after that word, and I fell on my butt. "Impossible… impossible... impossible…" I blankly stared at the ceiling of my room and started reciting that word like a mantra.

"There's no way you… yesterday, yesterday… I-I clearly saw you..." I utterly failed to finish the sentence. My mind was racing at top speed again, trying to comprehend all of these unreal facts.

... _"Was I really just dreaming?"_ The little bit of rational side inside my mind whispered. _"Was all happened yesterday really just a bad nightmare?"_

[ _"Yesterday..."_ ] Issei gasped a little. [ _"Shinji, did you really see me yesterday? While I was on a date with Yuuma-chan?"_ ]

… ***** _ **Ba-dump***_

[ _"Hey Shinji, last Friday…"_ ] Issei sounded desperate. [ _"I DID introduce you to my girlfriend last Friday, right? Her name is Amano Yuuma-chan. You remember her right?"_ ]

"…"

[ _"We-we even went on a date yesterday! I clearly remember going shopping with her. We played at the arcade together, shopped for clothes together, ate parfait together, and strolled around the shopping district together. I even bought her a present to commemorate our first date!"_ ]

"…"

[ _"But today, everything becomes weird. Matsuda and Motohama acted like they've never seen her in their life. They even called me delusional moron!"]_

"…"

[ _"Of course, at first I thought they were just joking. But as soon as I wanted to give them a proof by calling her, I realized that her number had disappeared from my phone! And not only that, her pictures I took on our date also disappeared without a trace."_ ]

"…"

[ _"It's… it's as if…"_ ] he hesitated. ["… _all_ _that experience was just a dream."_ ]

"…"

[ _"Hey Shinji…"_ ] Issei slowly said. [ _"I'm not crazy, right?"_ ]

…

"… what happened after that?" I finally said; breaking the silence between us.

[ _"Eh, what did you..."_ ]

"The date. What happened at the end of it?"

[ _"Shinji…"_ ]he said, almost melancholically. [" _Yo-you believe me?"_ ]

"Just answer the question already," I urged him with voice so grim I almost couldn't recognize it as mine. Somehow, I could even clearly feel Issei flinched after hearing it.

… Screw it. I don't have time to pretend to be calm and composed anymore right now.

"Well? How was it?" I urged with even more stern voice.

[ _"Ah, that's, ummm…"_ ] he stuttered. [ _"In the evening, I remember taking her to the park. We were just strolling there for a while. But… as for what happened after that…"_ ]

"You forget?" I took a guess, and his silence was more than enough to be an answer.

[ _"I… I remember her smile when she stood in front of the fountain in the park. I also vaguely remember she said something to me; something seemingly important. But no matter how hard I try to recall it, the memory just doesn't appear,"_ ] he said in total frustration; possibly biting his lip.

Heavy silence engulfed us for a few seconds. It took me a while to finally be able speak again. "… Issei, where are you right now? The exact location, I mean."

[ _"Huh? I'm still in the corridor in front of our class, but…"_ ]

"Are there any people around you?"

[ _"We-well, I was rushing out of the classroom along with the others just a few minutes ago, so yeah, it's actually still quite crowded here."_ ]

"Good, then stay where you are for now. And whenever your surrounding starting to get empty, move to more crowded place. The more crowded, the better."

[ _"Eh? Shinji, what are you…"_ ]

"I'm coming to get you."

 _*click*_

After hanging up the phone, I stared blankly at the ceiling for a couple more minutes before cracking a smile and laugh. Yes, I jollied in the middle of this mess. Somehow, I decided that the appropriate thing to do at the moment was to entertain myself through a series of good old mental jokes.

...

…

... Oh, and if you ever heard my neighbors gossiping about hearing someone impersonating 'The Joker' trademark maniacal laughter from somewhere near my house's vicinity, they're all mistaken.

...

… Yes.

"Yeaahh… of course it's not a dream, right? What are you thinking huh, you stupid git?" Finally, after I calmed down, I scolded myself while squeezing out one last bitter laugh.

I guess even after all this time struggling with 'weirdness', I'm still a naïve guy as always.

"Huufff… alright, stop pitying yourself already. Let's go, Kido Shinji!"

I gave myself some light slaps to the cheeks, then finally resolved myself to get up, reached for my things, and dashed .to the school.

" _Oh, Yui's so gonna kill me for this."_

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

I easily found Issei; standing in front of the school gate by himself. His expression was a mix of tired and confused. When he discovered me running toward him, he smiled slightly and waved.

Although, that smile instantly froze as soon as he realized I was charging at him at full speed.

Then proceeded to tackle him down.

Followed by forcefully lifting up his shirt.

In the middle of the day.

In a public place.

Witnessed by some students and ordinary passerby alike, with phones and cameras suddenly ready on their hands.

… As expected, the situation got out of hand really quickly. But don't worry as I can assure you, it's not as inappropriate as it sounds.

…

… Also, I had a fever. My mind wasn't functioning normally. Cut me some slack here.

Anyway, after that whole misunderstanding was solved; by Issei desperately shouting to everyone that he doesn't swing that way, and me doing absolutely nothing; I brought (/dragged) him to the nearest fast-food restaurant, when we could finally talk in ease about this predicament over some food, because I hadn't eaten anything since morning.

But...

"Dude, from now on, don't come any closer than AT LEAST 5 meter away from me. Any closer than that, and I'd have to resort to extreme measure," Issei warily said, while sitting 2 seats apart and suspiciously eyeing me like he's looking at dangerous fugitive.

… Well, then again, I'm pretty sure I'd do the same thing to the person who'd just about to rape me in public and a minute later leisurely eating cheeseburger beside me like nothing had happened.

"Ouwhh, cwooum ooun…" I tried to speak in the middle of my bites, which obviously resulted in incoherent mess. I swallowed and tried again. "Oh come on, I've explained it already! That was absolutely necessary!"

"You pushed me down, almost stripped me of my clothes, in front of the school ground, in front of dozens of other students! HOW IS THAT NECESSARY FOR ANYTHING?!" Issei lashed out angrily; attracting many unpleasant stares onto us.

"Alright, alright, geez…" I put my hands in the air. "But seriously, I needed to check if there's any leftover scar on your stomach. And It turned out…" I swallowed my food and threw my hand in the air; completely exasperated with all the craziness in this situation. "Surprise, surprise, there's none. You're completely free of life-threatening wound."

Issei's expression naturally shifted to confused scowl. "That's what I tried to tell you when you pushed me down back then. Why're you so insisted about me getting hurt, anyway?"

I sighed deeply; fully aware that he would most likely deem me crazy lunatic if I was to reveal the truth. But for his own safety, I ultimately decided to spill it.

"Well, for the start…" I paused dramatically, inhaled deeply, and said in one breath, "… you might want to hang on to your butt, cause you're probably gonna lose it really quickly."

And so my epic attempt to enlighten Issei about that fated Sunday evening began. Of course, I only told him half of the truth and twisted the rest of the story, since there's no way I could tell him that I 'transformed' and dragged his assailant into another dimension.

As if telling him that his girlfriend suddenly went completely mental, grew a pair of black wings, and proceeded to impale him in the gut with a giant stake made out of pure light wasn't crazy enough already.

As expected, his first reaction after I was done with my explanation was, "…You're kidding."

… Though I gotta admit, at the time I was extremely grateful he didn't immediately start freaking out and/or try to report me to the nearest psychiatric ward.

"Trust me man, I REALLY wish I am," I sighed again. To convince him even further, I rolled up my sleeves to show him the battle scars on my arms, which automatically made him winced. "But nope, pretty sure these scars are real, and no, I didn't get these from falling down some random stairs."

"So… wait, let me get this straight," while pinching the bridge of his nose, Issei let out an exasperated sigh and turned to me once again. "You're saying that yesterday, when we're on our date, Yuuma-chan revealed herself to be a supernatural being called fallen angel, and her true name is Raynare."

"Uh-huh."

"Also, it turns out that she only dated me to create a perfect chance to kill me. And she had to do that because of this extraterrestrial something called 'sacred gear' that, according to her resides inside of me, is a threat for her and her mysterious organization."

"So far so good."

"So you, who just happened to be around the area, heard all the ruckus and came to check on me. But when you arrive, I was already… already…"

"Laying down lifeless on the ground with a big hole in your stomach, yes."

"Ooo…kaayyy… that. Anyway, so you tried to safe me, but Yuuma-chan…"

"Raynare."

"Whatever. She tried to kill you too because she didn't want any witness left. So you had to run away and even if it wasn't a smooth getaway; judging from the scars, you managed to lose her after a while."

"Yup."

"But somehow, when you came back for me, my body was already gone. You tried to look for me, but your wounds made you pass out before you could do that."

"Aaand… that more or less concludes everything."

"No… no, it doesn't," Issei dejectedly shook his head while desperately grabbing it as if afraid it would fall off if he let it go. "Do you really expect me to just readily believe in all of this… this nonsense? Are you nuts? You must be messing with me now, right?"

I should've gotten annoyed at that remark, but honestly this time I couldn't feel anything other than pity for the poor guy. He didn't ask for this whole predicament, the same way I didn't ask for my power and the absolute craziness in my life.

In fact, his reaction reminded me too fond of myself when I first got dragged into this whole train-wreck life of mine; afraid and confused at the situation before me.

But he **had** to know. Keeping it a secret from him when it's very clear that he had somehow become the center of this absurdity would just endanger his life even further. No, he's not just any normal bystander whom I could just keep away from danger anymore now.

No matter how impossible it may seem, something of a higher entity had clearly targeted him. Who knows what Raynare's comrade in her secret organization would do if they find out he's still alive.

Like it or not, he had to adapt and eventually figure out the situation, along with his own way out, by himself.

Exactly like what I did one year ago.

My face muscle gradually relaxed. "Look man, I know there's a lot to chew, but you have to try. In fact, I know you're starting to consider my word too."

We're both staring at each other for couple of minutes; trying to predict each other's next reaction. Finally, Issei yielded first. "… I don't know, man. This is too absurd. I can't… I still can't believe that Yuuma-chan…"

His expression was too pitiful to the point I was afraid if I urged him even further, he's gonna have a serious mental breakdown soon enough.

Finally, I sighed in defeat. "Haaa… okay then. If this can make you feel better, let's gather one more proof," I declared as I stood up from my seat.

Issei looked up at me. "Proof of… what?"

"Of your girlfriend, of course," I smiled at him. "Let's try to look for Amano Yuuma one more time!"

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"I'm sorry, but we really don't know a student by that name in this school."

"Oh… okay then. Thank you for your time!"

I could only watch in silence as another group of students walked away from Issei. He hung his head dejectedly; slowly realizing all of this was futile.

We were currently hanging around in front of the nearby high school which, according to Issei, is Amano Yuuma's school. I could vouch for that also, because she indeed wore this academy's uniform when Issei introduced her in her disguise.

We had been going around the school ground for hours, asking the students about Amano Yuuma. Not only students, in fact. We got some chances to ask teachers and even every other staffs alike, and **all of them** said the same thing.

They don't even know there's a student named Amano Yuuma in this school.

"Hey dude, you okay? Wanna rest a little before we continue?" I tapped his shoulder to snap him out of his daze. "You've been doing this for quite a while now. A little rest wouldn't hurt."

Issei just shook his head weakly. "No, it's fine. I get it now," he murmured. "She's not here. She's never been. Even though she clearly said she's student from this school… even though she wore this school's uniform when she confessed to me…"

I couldn't pretend I didn't notice his tears any longer. "Hey Issei, you know what? Let's just go home and forget all of this for the rest of the day. We can continue doing… whatever we're doing now tomorrow. We absolutely need a rest. YOU absolutely need a rest," I hugged his shoulder to console him, and even if his tears didn't stop immediately, he managed a thin smile. "Yeah… yeah, I guess you're right."

A minute later, we walked home together. The evening sky's already colored deep orange without me even noticing. Surprisingly, Issei's house turned out to be in the same direction as mine. Not exactly the same neighborhood, but at least now I could accompany him for a little longer.

We were mostly quiet on our way. None of us had any urge to start a conversation with one another. Not that I mind, though. After such a long and tiring day (mostly mentally), I think we both deserved a moment of peace for ourselves.

After a while, Issei started a conversation out of blue. "Hey, Shinji…"

"Hmm?"

"… You're surprisingly calm about all this, aren't you?"

I looked at him blankly for a minute before started chuckling ironically. "Heh, just because I didn't throw a fit or lose my mind over it doesn't mean I'm calm, you know? " I realized my voice turned melancholic.

"… Well, let's just say this is not my first time dealing with this kind of… 'superstition'. At the very least, I know how to cope with it."

My word got his attention. "You mean you've ever gone through something like this before?"

"Eehhh… not exactly," I said.

" _Yeah, mine was WAY more absurd, that's for sure."_

"Still… there's one thing I can't quite figure out yet," Issei said again. "Let's say what you told me about Yuuma-chan was true; that she is a supernatural being and wanted to be my girlfriend just to kill me. If that's so, why chose the roundabout way? Also, if I was really gotten stabbed in the park yesterday, how could I wake up in my own bed the next morning with no wound or even a tiny bit of scar at all?"

I pondered about it for a moment. "About those two things… I might already have a few theories of my own…"

"Let's hear it then."

"So, for the reason why she chose the convoluted way to kill you is, maybe just because she loves to toy with your heart," I started, which made his face grimaced.

"Completely unnecessary and waste of time? You bet it is. But trust me, it'd take only a glance at her to figure out that she's a complete arsehole. Messing with men's heart in her free time is probably…"

I stopped immediately when I noticed Issei's sad expression. _"Of course he is sad, you insensitive moron!"_ I cursed myself inwardly. No matter how bad I'd described Raynare to be, she was still, in fact, his girlfriend (or ex-girlfriend?). There's no way he'd be able to hate her just like that.

Gosh darn it! Curse me and my big mouth!

"… Sorry. Shouldn't have said that," I genuinely apologized.

"Don't be," he shook his head lightly. "We got no time to be depressed now. I'll just ask for an explanation from her the next time me meet again. What's the next theory?"

I smiled and flinched inwardly at the same time. Smiled because I liked how quick he can adapt to the whole situation; flinched because I secretly knew it's kinda impossible for him to meet his ex-girlfriend again.

"Right, right, theory," I regrresed. "As for why you could be in your room without any injury whatsoever…" I stopped to observe him for a while. "… Though I don't have any evidence to back this up, but I'm suspicious it's because of that 'sacred gear' thingy that they said you posses."

He instinctively put his hand over his chest, as if reaching for something. "Honestly dude, I still can't imagine there's something inside me that can potentially be a threat to anybody; let alone some inhuman beings."

"You and me both, man. Yet, that's exactly what I heard from your ex yesterday," Issei maybe tried to look offended, but there're too many emotions jumbled up in his expression that it looked no more than a mild discontent.

"The point is, if you really DO have something that make her and her secret organization had to get rid of you, it must possesses some unique and latent power," I explained. "Such as, I don't know… maybe some kind of magical entity which caused you to have split personality that just happened to have a rapid healing factor, and it brought your body home just like that?"

Issei stared at me like I'm crazy (which I got a lot today). "Umm… I think you watch too much anime here, man. What you just said doesn't make any sense."

Hearing that, I naturally let out my best deadpan stare. "Issei, we're here walking home after investigating about your girlfriend gone missing; who's ACTUALLY a disguising unidentified lifeform with big-ass wings in bondage attire that came to assassinate you because she suspected you to have some kind of mysterious and supposedly-threatening 'super power'. DO NOT talk about making sense with me."

I was expecting some kind of retort; maybe at least a little response. Instead, Issei suddenly became silent. I automatically turned back to check on him.

" **What did you just say?"** Faster than I could react, he suddenly appeared in front of me and grabbed my shoulders; his expression became serious. I would be lying if I say I wasn't startled.

"Heh? Wha… 'Do not talk about making sense with me'?" I hurriedly guessed, because his nails had started to chafe into my skin by that point.

"No, the one before that!" He urged me with strangely intense vigor. Heck, I could almost see flame burning in his eyes. That made me wonder what kind of big, shocking revelation he had gotten from my word.

"Umm… 'you have some kind of mysterious and supposedly-threatening super power'?" I took another wild guess.

"NO!" he burst out once again. His eyes were getting sparkly somehow. "You clearly said something about bondage attire, didn't you?!"

…

…

… Wait, the hell?

"I-I'm sorry. I must've heard you wrong. Would you mind repeating that for me?" I tried to sound calm despite having this sudden urge to _chokeslam_ someone onto solid concrete.

"AARGGHHH… Why couldn't I remember it? Something like that… WHYYY? Come back, my memory!" Issei fell on his knees and started shouting in over-exaggerated manner.

… _*twitch*_

"Those heavily jiggling racks and that plump ass, wrapped tightly in a skin-tight black leather suit! UUOOHHH… DAMN IT! How could I miss something as splendid as that?!"

… _*twitch* *twitch*_

"Shinji! Master!" Issei suddenly looked up to me with blazing vigor in his eyes. "You have witnessed that, haven't you? The masterpiece that is Yuuma-chan's body wrapped in S&M costume. If that so, then please enli-GBHHUUU!"

…

… Such was a voice of an annoying twat getting a knee in their face, in case you're wondering.

"OWW! What the hell are you doing, you bastard?!" Issei screamed while holding his nose, which I hope wasn't broken after I smashed it with my kneecap.

"What the hell are **YOU** doing, dumbass!" I lashed back at him. "Seriously? The situation is THIS dire and you still have time to think about that? Can't you just keep your frigging libido in check for one GOSHDARN day?!"

"How can I keep it down after hearing a sexy and voluptuous babe like Yuuma-chan wearing a tight, skimpy leather costume! That's like, every man's dream comes true!" Issei declared excitedly. "In fact, how can YOU not get excited after seeing something like that with your own eyes, Shinji?"

All of sudden, Issei gasped in revelation. Then, he stood up and slowly shifted back away from me. With wary expression, he asked "or… is it because you really swing that way?"

My eyebrows twitched even more furiously. "Alright, before I proceed to disfigure your face myself, I'm gonna set two things straight here."

"First; no, I do NOT swing any way other than the normal way. Second; you try getting aroused by a psychotic killer chasing you with wings and glowing spear. Trust me, it's not gonna happen."

"Hooo… so she's the Sadist one."

"Wha… you're completely missing the point here!"

And so our pointless conversation went on for eternity. I'm genuinely too ashamed to admit that we spent almost an hour in the middle of the street (fortunately, an empty street) to argue about Issei's other fetishes, so let's skip this part.

"Okay, stop! Time out! We're way too off the course here!" I finally shouted to end this stupid charade. Wow, the sky's already dark when I realized it. "Dang it, I forget what we're discussing about."

"About the absolute greatness of the school swimsuit?" Issei offered.

"Not that one!" I barked while repeatedly snapping my fingers to jog my memory. "I mean what we're ACTUALLY discussing about. The important one."

"Hmm…" Issei's eyes wandered off aimlessly while I was busy recalling, but it's not long enough before he called me again. "Umm… Shinji…"

"Not another stupid comment, please. I'm thinking."

"Weren't we discussing about me having an unknown super power?" he offered; his voice sounded equally shaken and unsure at the same time.

I tapped a fist onto my open palm in revelation. "Oh yeah, that. Huh, were you actually paying atten… what're you looking at?"

When I finally looked at him, he was staring widely at the convenience store that's located near the junction, far away from us. His expression was surprised with his mouth agape, like he'd just seen a flying pig.

"What's wrong, Issei?" I grabbed his shoulder.

"Speaking about super power…" he gulped and murmured with eyes still fixated on the convenience store. "… I guess I just figured out more of it than just fast healing."

I narrowed my eyes. "Elaborate."

"You see that convenience store over there?" He pointed at the thing he's been staring at for a couple of minutes. "Do you see the banner in front of it?"

I had to squint my eyes to look for what he's told me. After a while, I found it. Banner with red and white background, painted with colorful text and some pictures I couldn't really make out was indeed standing in front of the glass panel of the store.

"Yeah. Barely." I told him. "What of it?"

"It says 30% sale on all dairy products for all weekend in this month."

I instantly froze. "How could you…"

"Oh, but some of the brands are excluded. The list of those is written in tiny letters in the bottom of the banner. Do you want to know all of them?"

I'm pretty sure my mouth was hanging open. Sure, the banner itself was maybe not very small, but I need to emphasize here that it was located ALMOST 20 meters away from our position. It must've took miracle for someone to actually recognize it. Reading the details inside of it? I would need a telescope.

But apparently, Issei wasn't done. "Oh, and you see that mother and her daughter walking together?"

As if on cue, the glass door of the store was opened, and from the inside came out a middle-aged woman holding grocery bag on her right hand and the hand of small girl on her left.

They're chatting happily with smile on their face, and the little girl occasionally hoped around to express her happiness. We watched them intently until they disappeared at the corner of one building.

"They've been talking about their dinner ever since they left the store," Issei told me so surely as if he'd been there listening directly to the conversation. "The mother said they will have hamburger tonight. The girl was overjoyed and said she will help in preparing it."

Suddenly, his face perked up again as he shifted his gaze to the corner where they were last seen at. "Oh, apparently the mother just promised her a special dessert if she help properly. Truly a good mother right there," he nodded a few times in agreement.

"Wha… How… Why… You…"

Issei just shrugged, even if there's a little hint of amusement on his face. "Got no clue. My eyes and ears just suddenly got cranked up to eleven before I even realized. " he explained so naturally.

"Huh, what's the odd, right? Apparently, aside from making me part-wolverine, this 'sacred gear' you mentioned also make me part-batman as well," Issei grinned at me. "I wonder if I can do X-Ray vision as well. That would be very useful on many occasion, uhehehe..."

…

…

… At that point, I honestly didn't know what surprised me more. The fact that Issei didn't even bat an eye after discovering his new, very unnatural power and could even still make a lecherous joke out of it, or that he didn't know batman doesn't posses any super power.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"Are you really sure it's okay to part way here?"

"Man, to be honest, you're starting to become annoyingly paranoid right now," Issei huffed. "I said it's okay already. Have faith, dude."

Standing in front of the intersection where we should've part ways, we argued whether I should escort him to his home. Well, actually it seemed more like me forcing myself to go with him.

… Alright, poor choice of words, I know. Enough with the weird innuendos already. I only offered that to make sure nobody would target him again until he's safe at home.

"Besides…" Issei grinned widely as he puffed out his chest. "If someone really come to get me, I'm pretty sure I can outrun them all just fine. Did you see how fast I could run back then? I was like… REALLY fast, right?"

" _That... would be an understatement, actually,"_ I thought to myself.

… Yeah, so here's the story. After figuring out that Issei got an enhanced vision and hearing, we immediately did some experiment to find out if he still have more superpower in storage.

And as the result, we figured out that he got fitness enhancement too. In fact, I just witnessed him going Usain Bolt's speed without as much as breaking a sweat. Not only that, he also could do a long jump so **absurdly** far that I was pretty sure it's Olympic gold medal worthy, WITHOUT taking even a single step running starter.

Long story short; he had become a super human. Maybe even more so than me when I was donning my armor.

Realizing our argument was pointless, as he already got too much immersed in his newfound power, I sighed in defeat. "If you really think so, fine then. Just remember to always be careful!"

"Alright, alright. Geezz, you sound like my mom," he said; still excitedly observing his surroundings to check his newly acquired night vision. "Heh, I can get used to this awesome perks!"

I sighed and eventually looked at my phone's clock. It's already half past six as we chatted. _"It'd be troublesome if I go home any later. Not that going home now would make any significant difference, though,"_ I thought bitterly as I slowly remembered my own problem; that being my little sister that have a full authority to neglect my dinner for all eternity.

"I guess I'll just go home now, then," I said. "You sure you can handle yourself from here on, Issei?"

The said guy stopped doing jumping jacks and looked at me. "Yeah, dude. Stop worrying about me already."

"Okay, then," I said as I turned my body to the other direction. "Don't forget to call me if there's something happen!"

Then I started walking home. At the same time, my mind tried to form some sort of plan to save myself from Yui's wrath. Gosh, I hope she wasn't waiting for me behind the door with her scary 'oni' expression again. Looking at that is bad for my heart.

"HEYY, SHINJI!"

As I was busy formulating an escape plan, suddenly my name was called from behind. Turning back; I found Issei still standing in his place.

"Thanks for today man!" He shouted. "Especially, thanks for believing in me! It really helps when you have somebody with clear mind beside you at a time like this!" Then without waiting for my reply, he turned and started running to the opposite direction.

I smiled a little, muttered "welcome", then continued walking again. On the way, I realized that smile stuck to my face and I didn't think this feeling of satisfaction would disappear for a while.

" _Onii-chan~"_

Honestly, I never expected any reward in any kind or form when I 'help' people. Heck, many of them didn't even know that I saved their life.

" _Onii-chan~~"_

Then again, this is maybe the reason why receiving an occasional, honest-to-heart gratitude like this feels even more pleasant.

" _Neee… Onii-chan~"_

" _Heh, I can get used to this feeling,"_ I accidentally let out a small chuckle. Now that my mind refreshed a little, I could…

" _ **Onii-chan~ Are you ignoring me?"**_

 _*Whuussh*_

It took me less than a second to abruptly turn around when I felt a tug on my sleeve and some sort of weirdly familiar dangerous aura surged from behind me at the same time. Judging from the voice that's full of malice, I was immediately on alert. But this time (thanks God), my expectation was wrong.

Because there, I found a little girl looking at me with her clear blue eyes.

"Ah, finally! Mouuu~ I thought you were ignoring me here, you know?" The said girl pouted adorably.

I was still staring speechless at her when she said that. No, not because I was entranced (I'm not a lolicon; thank you), but rather because her 'amusing' attire got my attention.

Her clothing was in fact that's what could only be described as 'gothic lolita' costume. Her black lolita dress had a lot of white frills sewn into it and completed by a large black bow on the front part. There's also a black bow on top of her hair, as if she didn't have enough color black on her clothes already.

Why would someone want to wear this kind of impractical clothing on daily basis, I couldn't tell you. Well, it's not like it doesn't suit her or anything, though.

She also looked like foreigner, for good measure. Her blue pupils and blonde hair that's done in twin tail easily told it all. She's looking at me pleadingly while holding a piece of paper right now.

… There's no way this girl was the one releasing that killing intent, right?

"Uh, what's wrong?" I finally asked. "Do you need something?"

Her eyes started sparkling. Wow, her puppy dog eyes could easily rival Yui's at this rate. "Actually... I'm lost, onii-chan. I can't find this address at all," she pleaded as she handed me the piece of paper on her hand.

When I check the address in it, I realized that I recognized the area. The direction was simple enough actually, but the distance kinda worried me there. Even though it's still in walking distance, this was quite late at night.

Plus, notice I said that I recognized the 'area'. I didn't really know the exact location, and it's practically impossible for a little girl like her to go around looking for address at night. Alas, there's no way I could just tell her to go by herself.

Of course, there's also a second option for me to take her there. The problem was, if I was to come home any later than I already was, I'm sure Yui wouldn't hesitate to feed me only with cup ramen for a whole month.

"This is quite far from here, actually," I scratched my hair as I told her. "Why do you want to go here, anyway?"

Unexpectedly, she suddenly started sobbing. "I-I… _*hic*_ I'm looking for my _*hic*_ mommy," she said with teary eyes.

"Woah, Woah, don't cry here," I hurriedly tried to calm her down as I checked my surrounding. Luckily, there's no one in our vicinity. I don't want to imagine what would happen if somebody sees me making a little girl cry on the street.

"Let's calm down first, 'kay?" I said as I patted her hair gently. She soon stopped sobbing and looked at me with teary eyes, and I smiled at her. "Good girl. Now, can you tell me why you're looking for your mother?"

"Da-daddy said… _*sniff*_ daddy said mommy is here, but he said I can't meet her anymore. But I… _*sniff*_ I miss mommy very much, so I want to… UUEEE~~" The little girl slowly explained to me, but ultimately bawled even harder than before.

Hearing her story, I felt pity and anger slowly seeped into my heart. "What about your dad? Does he know you're here?"

The girl startled and shook her head hard. "No, no, he can't know! Daddy will not let me meet mommy! He always says mommy doesn't love me anymore and she left us for another man and many other mean things, but that's not true! Mommy loves me, I know it!"

As she sobbed and cried, my hands balled hard into a fist and I had to keep my emotion in check. _"Why? She doesn't deserve this."_ I cursed in my heart.

It always pains me to see a child becomes victim to their family problem. Mainly because I know many things about family problem. After all, my dad is not exactly the attentive type (that was understatement) ever since my mom passed away, and whenever I remember my sister Yui's only REAL family; which is her brother, I got strong urge to choke the living hell out of him for leaving her only sister behind.

These children often don't have any choice but to obey and got swept away by the problem as well. This girl was obviously one of them. Just because her parents are divorced (I assumed they were divorced, judging from the girl's word), she had to get separated from her mother. And worse, now she was forced to come here from God knows where, all by herself; just because his father didn't want anything to do with her ex-wife again.

I don't give a swiveling damn about your divorce and shit, but don't drag your children into your mess, darn it! They got nothing to do with it!

I calmed myself down. _"She has right to meet her mother,"_ I ultimately decided. Then, I patted her hair again, making her looked at me with teary eyes. "You love your mom so much, don't you?"

The girl's eyes widen, then she wiped her eyes and nodded fast a few times. "Yes, I do. I want to meet her again!" She exclaimed with determined eyes. I chuckled slightly after seeing that. Glad to see her energy's back.

" _Which means now's my turn to do something."_

"Okay then. I will take you to her!" I exclaimed with the same amount of vigor. Her eyes instantly lit up and she looked ecstatic. "Waahhh~ Really, Onii-chan? You will take me to my mommy?" The girl jumped onto my arm and her eyes were sparkling even brighter now.

I chuckled at her antics. It seriously reminded me of Yui. "Yeah, of course! Leave it to this big brother here!" I pounded my chest, then proceeded to lead her by her arm. The girl got so overjoyed she wouldn't stop humming and skipping beside me.

... Which reminded me, I hadn't got her name yet.

"Hey kid, my name's Kido Shinji. What's yours?"

The girl beamed at me. "Ah, my name is Mittelt. Nice to meet you, Shinji onii-chan!

…

… " _Huh, I guess she's really a foreigner, after all. Her name's not Japanese."_

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

"Hmm..."

"..."

"Hmmm..."

"O-onii-chan?"

"Hmmmmm..."

"Neee~ onii-chan... are we lost?"

I, for the twentieth times, scratched my head in confusion as I compared the address in the paper to the one in front of us. But the more I looked at it, the more nonsensical everything became. "Are you... really sure this is the place, Mitt?"

... Yes, I called her 'Mitt' as an abbreviation of her name. Leave me alone.

Mittelt nodded confidently. "Yes, I'm really sure. This is the address daddy gave me."

Hearing that, I narrowed my eyes as I stared suspiciously at her. "Wait, hold on a second. Didn't you say your father forbids you to go to your mother's place? Why would he tell you the address, then?"

She averted her gaze from me with light blush on her face. "Eh, umm... I-I mean he left it for me..."

"Mitt..." I stared harder at the suspect.

"I... I might have heard daddy said it somewhere before..." she said with clearly the most unconvincing expression ever, as she intertwined her fingers together.

"Mittelt... The truth. Now." I threw the final nail in the coffin.

Finally, she gave up. "Uuu... I'm sorry, onii-chan," she whimpered apologetically. "Honestly, I overheard a conversation between daddy and someone that's supposed to be mommy. When they're done, daddy left this beside the telephone, so I thought it must got something to do with mommy."

" _Haishh… there's no way I can get mad at this expression,"_ I thought; referring to her innocent teary face. Ultimately failed to scold her, I once again sigh heavily and set my eyes onto the old looking and seemingly abandoned warehouse in front of me.

…

…

… Yes, I indeed said old looking and seemingly abandoned warehouse; which located in the outskirts of the town. I honestly got no idea how we could end up in this kind of place. After all, there's no way her mother would live here. I wasn't even convinced she had anything to do with this abandoned place.

Yup, we're officially lost here, folks.

"But, but..." Mittelt once again looked at me pleadingly with her sparkling blue eyes. "I really saw daddy wrote this address when he called my mommy. I'm sure mommy will be here!" She then went and pulled my sleeve to follow her. "Nee~ onii-chan... Let's check it first."

I couldn't say anything when she pleaded with that super OP puppy-dog eyes. While I'm sure her mother wouldn't be in this dark, abandoned warehouse (or anybody at all, for that matter), her eyes pretty much told that she wouldn't back down until she saw it by her herself.

Sighing deeply; I put my hand on her shoulder. "Okay then, but stay close to me. And don't do anything rash when we're inside," I warned her, then proceeded to walk ahead into the building while holding her arm.

...

... _*KRIEEKKK…*_

"Wow, this place is much scarier than what I'd imagined," I naturally let out that comment while observing my surrounding.

I said observing, but honestly there's not really much to see in this dark and deserted place. The windows were all somehow had covered with some kind of black cloth, thus hindering any form of light to go through it. The warehouse itself is quite large, but seems so old and dusty so I assumed it must had been left for years by now. The steel beams that holding this place together also look so rusty and frail I was afraid it could collapse on top of us at any moment.

There vast space itself was separated into some sections by steel partition. Many construction materials and unknown machinery in various kind, shape, and size were scattered across the rooms; pipes, steel beams, rusty plate of metals, etc. Some wooden crates were stacked on top of each other on one corner and what seemed to be empty drum barrels on the other side.

But the scariest part was, some heavy equipment were hanging loosely from the metal beams above us with huge amount of big chains wrapping them, all linking to one another.

Some chains were even long enough to reach the ground from two-stories building high. Every small gust of wind gradually made them shift and swing, producing an ominous creaking sound like the one in every Horror movie ever.

But me? I was just worried if one of those big ass container would suddenly dropped on top of us. I swear if some day I want to make my name appear in the headline newspaper, it wouldn't be as 'Two Trespassing Kids Got Crushed Under 3 Tons of Junks In Some Old Warehouse.'

… God, would that be embarrassing.

 _*RIIINNGG~~*_

"WOOW!" The eeriness factor in this place successfully made me jumped in surprise when my phone suddenly rang loudly. As soon as I calmed down, I reached for my phone and looked at the caller.

{HYOUDOU ISSEI}

" _Oh shit…"_ I silently cursed. He had no reason to call me now, unless… there's something emergency going on.

I picked it up. "Issei, what's…"

[ _"SHINJI! *pant* *pant*, GET AWAY FROM THERE! NOW!"_ ]

As soon as I answered it, Issei's voice almost blasted my eardrums. Though this time, his ragged breaths and urgent tone ultimately made me ignore that. "Wh-what's wrong? Where're you now?"

[ _"Got no time *pant* to explain, but you're being targeted! He clearly said that just now!"_ ]

"He? What the… what's going on there, Issei? Who's this 'he'?" I urged in panic. His voice was so shaky it's hard to make out his words, and clearly his ragged breaths wasn't helping.

… wait a minute.

"Issei, what're you running from?" I slowly asked after realizing that his short breaths was caused by him running. "Are you being followed?"

[ _*pant* *pant* "Oh shit, he's close. Sorry, man, gotta go. Just get out of there, FAST!"_ ]

"Wa-wait, Is…"

 _*click* *tuut~ tuut~ tuut~*_

"DAMN IT!" In frustration, I almost threw my phone to the ground. _"He's definitely being chased now. Is it one of that winged freak's accomplice? Darn it all! I've predicted they'd come for him again, but not this soon,"_ I gritted my teeth so hard my cheek eventually felt numb.

" _Ughh damn it… I don't have time to think. Gotta go now,"_ I decided, then turned my body.

"Mitt… I'm sorry, but I got something…"

… only to find that the girl had completely gone from my sight.

 _*creeaaakk... BOOOMM*_

... and that sound signaled things escalated really quickly.

"WHOAA! What the…" I yelped in surprise when the steel gate behind me slammed shut. As the one and only reliable source of light now had gone, I was left in total darkness. I immediately fumbled for my cellphone's flashlight, but one thing stopped me.

"Onii-chan..." Mittelt's voice echoed inside the vast building.

"Mitt?" I answered. "Wherever you are right now, don't move! I'm coming to get you!" Then proceeded to use the flashlight in my phone and illuminate the path in front of me.

"Wait, onii-chan! Don't..."

...

... and I saw something that immediately shot my alert level up to eleven.

There, I found a feather; a PITCH BLACK feather, to be exact.

...

...

Horrifying flashbacks came crashing down on me as I hurriedly backed off in panic. Now the situation got even creepier, I gradually realized that I maybe had unintentionally overlooked THE ONE AND ONLY MESSAGE in Issei's rushed warning.

 _[…you're being targeted!]_

" _Oh, screw me…"_ I cursed, then in one swift movement shot my flashlight upward.

... Just in time when something bright pink flashed in front of me.

"GAAHHH!"

 _*bruukkk*_

Luckily; I'm alive. My butt dragged me down to the ground just before the pink flash powered through my head. True, my palm and arm were grazed, but nothing too serious here.

Unluckily; my phone didn't make it.

I clutched my bleeding hand, that's fortunately didn't hurt that much. In desperation, I looked up and tried to find my assailant, until I realized I was in total darkness since my phone was lost.

That's when a familiar, yet so different voice spoke from God knows where.

"Tch, I missed. Why can't you fucking filthy human just sit still so I can do my job properly, huh?"

...

...

... Holy EFFING shit.

Cold sweats profusely dripped off my face. With shaky voice, I addressed the voice. "Mi-mitt?"

"Stop calling my name like that, you filthy human! You'll sully my graceful name with your dirty tongue. Shit, I know I should've used a fake name," she sounded disgusted, and her high-and-mighty tone actually made me reminisce about one woman I wished I'd never met.

"Y-you... you are..." I stuttered so bad I couldn't even finish the sentence. Things moved too fast for me to understand, but as confused as I was, it didn't take me long to understand that I just got Catfished, HARD.

"Meh, whatever. I'll just kill you now so I can go home as soon as possible," she leisurely exclaimed like my life worth nothing. Then, I saw the same bright pink light shone above me, hovering and illuminating a small part of the room. The light soon elongated and formed a huge spear that's clearly taller than the wielder.

... And that was the first time I was able to see Mittelt true appearance.

Her figure didn't change at all, except now a pair of wings were freely flapping on her back. The innocent child expression that I'd associated with her had disappeared completely; replaced by haughty and condescending smirk similar to her fellow winged lady, Raynare.

"Please don't dodge this okay~ onii-chan. That way maybe I can make your death as fast and painless as possible. Nee~ aren't I nice?" She once again spoke with that cute and innocent tone, even if now she's clearly speaking about taking my life.

... She made me sick.

"Everything you said to me..." I trembled, but this time it's not out of fear. Oh no, I was long past that. The only feeling inside of me now was pure unadulterated rage. "...Was that all lie?"

"What? AHAHAHA... Oh, my stomach," She laughed out loud. "You really believe that? How stupid can you be? I mean... a little girl walking around by herself in the night just to find her mother? Hahaha... stupid! We have a moron here, people! NYAHAHA..."

As soon as her laugh stopped, she sneered at me. "Heh, but I guess that's just appropriate for a useless race like you. Human males always think with their dick, after all," she stared at me in pure disgust. "It always takes nothing more than cute appearance to deceive you virgins to do exactly as I want. Hihihi~ I bet you were thinking of ravaging my body as soon as we're alone in this creepy dark place, right? Uwaah... What a sicko~" she spouted more vulgar things as she haughtily spoke down to me.

...

... That's it. This girl's going down. Fast.

I breathed to calm myself down. I would need that in order to teach a lesson to this wicked-tongued brat. Then, I ripped small parts of my blazer, and used the cloth to wrap my arm and palm. After all my wounds were tended, I stood up straight and faced her.

"Hmph, says the self-proclaimed more advanced race who can only use her appearance to deceive the supposedly useless race, AND still fail to kill him before he even notices," I taunted back with confident smirk on my face. "Uwaah... What a letdown~"

I could clearly see veins popping on her temple since she's hovering beside the only light source in the room. "Hoo... you dare to talk back to me, shitty mortal? It seems you really want your death to be slow and painful after all? Are you a masochist, by any chance?"

I snorted loudly, which made her gritted her teeth even harder. "Sure, just keep boasting, you incompetent loli," I said as my right hand slipped into my back pocket and my body bent forward; ready to charge. "I'm done cowering in fear in front of you or your freak show! You want a fight? Come and get it, then!"

...

... You may think I'm stupid for provoking a mentally unstable brat with sharp object in hand, but trust me, I have an idea. Well, sort of.

There were two things I'd expected when I boasted like that. Either my bold action would agitate her and ultimately make her blindly charging at me in rage, or it would make her hesitate to attack me, thus giving me some time to plan my next move.

Both choice would be okay because I'd known from personal experience that they're not exactly a fighter, thus if she really charged in recklessly, it'd be easy to trick and if I was lucky, overwhelm her in close combat. But if she chose to wait, that'd actually gave me enough time to plan my attack, and the first thing to do was obviously to find the nearest mirror or glass alike.

" _Now, what's your reaction, Mitt?"_ I waited in silence as we're having staring contest with one another.

Unfortunately, her reaction splendidly ruined all my possible future plan explained above.

"Pffftt... AHAHAHAHA, you're very smart-mouthed for a mere human. Just like what Raynare nee-sama described."

...

...

... huh?

"Ray...nare?" I was shocked beyond belief. _"No, it can't be. I left her in the Mirror World,"_ I desperately convinced myself.

But now when I think about it again, I guess her coming back was clearly the most logical reason as to why her organization could know Issei's still alive, and even why they'd target me. I just naturally eliminated the possibility earlier because I thought it was impossible.

"What're you thinking now, human? Oh, let me guess!" Her cheerful voice sounded so confident. "You want to know why Raynare nee-sama could get out of your 'Mirror World', don't you?"

...

...

... Oh crud. Heavenly crud.

"Hihihi~ your face tells me what I just said hit the mark, right?"

"How?" I gritted my teeth silently. I hoped I didn't look that much intimidated. "How can she get out? And why didn't she come for me herself if she's already out?"

Mittelt wiggled her finger in front of her face in playful manner. "Ah, ah, ah, you don't need to know about that. One thing you should know now is none of your trick would work on me anymore, human! Why do you think I brought you to this place, huh?"

Her word made me looked around one more time. At first, I couldn't see anything that could potentially be a real threat to me (mainly because, you know, this place was pitch dark)

I mean, I felt that the only real threat here was the whole damn place itself that could collapse on top of us if we poked the foundation wrongly. That, and maybe because all the access in and out had been compromised, including all the… window…

…

… Oh, gosh darn it.

"You got it now?" Mittelt smirked in triumph. "And aside from sealing all window, I've also get rid of all glasses, mirrors, and any other reflective surfaces in this place. You have no way to access that strange power now. Nyahahaha~"

" _Shit. I walked right into her trap,"_ I cursed inwardly. _"What to do now? Can I break out of here by breaking down the door? No, her guard would be too strong there. Windows? Can I break through that black curtain covering them?"_

"What's wrong, onii-chan? Not so confident without your power now, do you?" She chuckled. " Heh, you're just a powerless human without that armor, after all. Exactly like that green guy said."

…

…

... _Green guy?_

"Wait, what did you just say?" I exclaimed. "HEY, who's this 'green guy'?"

"Whoopss… I talked too much to Mr. Lolicon here. Silly me. Teehee~" Mittelt stuck her tongue out cutely. "Anyway, I have to kill you now, onii-chan. Don't hate me because of this, yeah? I hope you will be reunited with your friend in the after life," she said as she raised the light spear over her head.

I immediately shot her my best death glare. "YOU BASTARD! LEAVE ISSEI ALONE!"

"Aaand… HUPP!" She launched the spear with deadly accuracy, straight onto my head.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

I got an EXTREME case of déjà vu right now.

I mean...

Borderline psychotic girl in eccentric Halloween costume: check

Black wings jutting out of her back: check

Light spears continuously raining down on me: check

I'm desperately running for my life: check

"NYAHAHAHA~ until when can you keep running, onii-chan? Come on, come on~ your legs are getting sluggish."

… Oh, and that ear piercing, gut wrenching, straight-from-the-textbook evil laughter: double check.

"UOOOHH!" I shouted while running at full speed, and somehow managed to slide under one of the steel beam leaning across the path, right before a pink spear hit me in the back.

"Shitty hell! HEY, WATCH IT, YOU DAMN BRAT! YOU COULD'VE HURT SOMEBODY WITH THAT!" I shouted from behind my hiding spot, while at the same time grabbing a steel pipe laying down beneath me. Then, without her seeing, I proceeded the crawl slowly to one of the nearest sealed window.

"That's my whole intention, you idiot! AND DON'T CALL ME BRAT! I'll have you know that I'm far older than you are!" Mitt hollered from somewhere above me.

While she's busy boasting, I managed to reach one of the windows. Then using the steel pipe in my hand, I plunged forward and stabbed through the black material covering it.

 _*TRAANG* *BOOOMM*_

"UAARGHH!" A heavy shockwave was released as soon as the pipe came into contact with the black material. I was blown away into a pile of cardboard boxes behind me, and my only weapon was flung to the other side.

"Ahaa~ there you are, onii-chan!" Mittelt cheerfully said as she pointed at me. "Hihihi… to think you'd actually try to break through my barrier like that. Your stupidity is really amusing, you know?"

"But too bad for you~ my barrier's not something that can be destroyed that easily, especially by a mere weak human such as yourself," she shook her index finger while smirking wickedly. "Now, get ready to…"

"Oh shut up, would you?" I cut her off. Even though I hadn't recovered from the shock and was still laying tiredly on the pile of boxes, I managed to glare back at her. I was completely got fed of getting thrown around like a rag doll that the words flew out before I could even think about the consequences.

"You all keep saying human are weak, useless, and other craps, yet you tried to kill Issei just because he had something that could possibly be a threat for you. And now, you target me for an unjustified revenge, yet too afraid to come down here and beat me face to face yourself."

I spat blood from my mouth. "Sure, human maybe weak. We can't fly or make weapon appear out of thin air. We can't make any invincible barrier or manipulate other's memories. But, you know what…" I took a deep breath. "You're by far, THE MOST coward and hypocritical person I've ever seen in my whole life."

The room was dead silent for a brief moment, then a small chuckle could be heard. "Heh, even your last word is pathetic. Oh, well then…" she hoisted her weapon.

"Die, human."

"YOU WISH!"

 _*whuuussh*_

At the same time she threw the spear, I also grabbed one of the empty cardboard boxes and hurled it to her.

Obviously, the spear punched through it with ease. But at least it's enough to lessen the spear's momentum and mess with its trajectory, so I could dodge it by slight margin.

 _*JLEBB* *BRUUKK*_

I threw my body to the right and rolled just before the spear get me, then I stood up and GTFO with all of my power left.

"YOU'RE ONLY PROLONGING THE INEVITABLE, ONII-CHAN!" I could hear her shouting behind me as I ran. "YOU HAVE NO WAY TO BEAT ME! JUST SURRENDER AND I WILL GIVE YOU A QUICK AND PAINLESS DEATH!"

Meanwhile, I finally reached a suitable hiding spot behind one of the pillar. Though tired, dizzy, and desperately gasping for air, I managed to mutter, "not today. Definitely not like this."

I observed my surroundings; looking for something, ANYTHING that I could use to beat her. As now I know there's no way out, I had to force her to undo the barrier first before I could go to help Issei. Besides…

" _That green guy she mentioned…"_ I murmured. _"If it's really what I think it is, then the reason why Raynare could get out of Mirror World actually made sense. But… that also means I'm screwed,"_ I sat still for some time, contemplating what should I do if it's really one of 'them'.

Finally, I made my decision. "Yeah, screw everything. Set your priority straight, me. Survive now, worry about your peaceful life later." I muttered as I slapped both my cheeks.

" _Have to look for a way out now. Think, Shinji. Think like your life depends on it. Which it completely is, by the way."_

I once again focused on finding anything I could use to turn the table against my attacker. After a while, an idea came in form of one big container hanging loosely by chains in the center of the warehouse.

"Oh man…" I sighed. "This is not gonna be pretty..."

* * *

XXXXXX (3rd Person POV) XXXXXX

* * *

"Oh onii-chan~ come out and play~~"

Mittelt, who was casually sitting on one of the steel beams, once again purred mockingly to provoke the human. The bright pink light spear being twirled behind her.

"Uugghhh… boringgg~" she ultimately groaned when there's no answer could be heard. But when she was just about look for him…

 _*tap tap tap…*_

"Ahaa~ there you are!" The fallen angel cheered when she heard quick footsteps behind her. As fast as a quick draw, she turned and threw the spear to that sound's vicinity.

… and successfully impaled one of the warehouse's supporting pillar. Not a sign of it hitting her target could be detected.

"Tch, quit moving around already," she clicked her tongue in frustration. "You're ma…"

 _*tap tap tap…*_

"Gotcha!" She threw another spear to the opposite direction. Again, it missed and hit a steel beam supporting the whole room.

"Ah moouu… why don't you listen to meee?!"

 _*tap tap tap…*_

"THERE!"

 _*tap tap tap…*_

"HUPP!"

 _*tap tap tap…*_

"HYAAT!"

 _*tap tap tap…*_

"ENOOUUUGGHHH!" Finally, Mittelt lost her patience. Her shrill cry boomed inside the warehouse.

She'd been hurling spears for a while now; long enough to annoy her; but none of them managed to hit the target. This particular human was somehow so nimble and agile that he always managed to dodge her spears by tiny margin.

To add even more annoying factor, he seemed to do that on purpose. Because he didn't show any sign of doing anything beside running around in circle, generally provoking her by occasionally slowing down his pace and making sounds in the middle of the run just to make sure she's following him.

And that ticked her to the very core.

"JUST ACCEPT YOUR HOPELESS FATE ALREADY, YOU DAMN MORTAL!" Mittelt screamed in anger. "WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT THIS IS ALL USELESS?!"

"Is it now?"

The low, almost growling voice immediately set Mittelt's alarm off. She turned to its source with her spear ready. Just like that, she found her game standing still beside one of the steel foundation.

His condition wasn't very good, as now he somehow had fresh scratches and bruises all over his body, and Mittelt could faintly pick up his ragged breaths and wobbly legs threatening to topple him over.

She should've had ended it right then and there. One spear through the head; that's what it would take to end this stupid charade. She could finally go home and receive gratitude and respect that she'd expected from her colleagues.

But somehow, the expression on her target's face made her doubted herself.

It's CERTAINLY not an expression of the hunted. In fact, every bone in Mittelt's body immediately screamed 'DANGER' as soon as she looked at his eyes. Despite his overall bad condition, There's no even the slightest hint of fear, panic, or distress whatsoever.

Instead, he stood his ground and stared at her so confidently; one had to wonder which one of them had been constantly bombarding the other with light spears here.

"Hu-hum… humphh, I commend you for showing yourself, human!" Mittelt exclaimed, even if her voice sounded less confident now. "I take it you're ready to surrender now?"

…

… Oh, Mittelt couldn't stress enough how bad his wicked grin would haunt her in her nightmare for all eternity.

"Surrender, huh?" His deathly frozen voice creeped her even more. "Yeah, I guess I do."

"Huh, as I expected from a persist… eh?" Mittelt almost slipped over when she heard that. "Yo-you… do?"

"Yup," he shrugged nonchalantly, even if his every movement was still making Mittelt secretly nervous. "I'm tired of this nonsense. I finally realized that there's no way I could beat you without my armor. What you said was right; I was only prolonging the inevitable. So…"

He spread his arm while showing _'I-don't-give-a-damn'_ expression on his face. "Go on. You got your game giving himself up in front of you here. Just do what you want and get this over with already."

"O-ohh…" Mittelt blinked a few times in confusion. _"Is he planning something?"_ She pondered while still eyeing her target suspiciously.

Now, even though she looked like a child, Mittelt is a fallen angel that had lived for hundreds of years. She'd seen many fights, ranging from the smallest quarrel to the biggest full-blown war. Seeing such trickery is not strange at all in a battlefield.

Aside from that, she also had done many dirty jobs from Grigori regarding everything she could imagine. Spying, infiltrating, stealing, sabotaging, you name it; she'd done all of them.

But of course, her favorite part is always the assassination of a potential sacred gear user.

She always chuckled whenever she sees surprised expression on her victim's face when she revealed herself in front of them. She enjoyed seeing people succumbed to fear and despair whenever she busts out her light spear.

Oh, how exhilarating it is to see those lowly human grovel at her feet; begging for their life!

But everything changed as soon as she know about this guy's existence.

Honestly, Mittelt had been surprised beyond belief when she found her senior and 'unofficial superior', Raynare, came back after dealing with the sacred gear possessor that was her target with broken wing and overall vengeful expression on her face yesterday.

Not only that, she also brought home a… strange guy cladded in full body spandex and armor, and immediately told all of them that they would be partnering from now on to hunt one particular human.

Raynare then chose her to do this job. Naturally, Mittelt had to succeed, even if she couldn't give any damn about what's happening at all, or who that green spandex-cladded guy actually is.

Though she gotta admit, his story about a different world inside a mirror was a bit intriguing. Plus, this guy they discussed about had actually manage to beat Raynare, so she immediately thought this guy would be interesting as a playmate.

And thus, she was very disappointed when her target turned out to be just another snot-nosed brat. As expected, he easily fell to her acting and willingly followed her to her trap.

She'd actually expected someone who could make her forget her boredom every once in a while.

…

… Well to her surprise, this guy turned out to be the right adversary she'd hoped in the end. It's easily proven by his unusual level-headedness and extraordinary survivability.

Granted, it's not like there's no human who are aware of supernatural. In fact, some of Mittelt's assassination target in the past had known about supernatural existence long before she met them. Heh, many of them even fully aware of her stalking them before she actually attacked.

It's certainly not the first time someone had opposed her when she came for their life; some even with their sacred gear properly trained and ready for combat.

The problem is, this guy certainly didn't fall into that category. When she first saw him at that street, she had no doubt that this next victim had absolutely no awareness about her being fallen angel.

Then, when she revealed her true self in front of him, his surprised and devastated reaction was also genuine, thus strengthening her opinion about him not knowing anything about 'her' side of reality (well, before meeting Raynare, anyway)

Worsened by his mysterious power that was now sealed, Mittelt was positive that her opponent, no matter how strong or cunning he is, will soon bow down and beg for mercy in front of her.

Human, after all, is a weak race with no redeeming qualities whatsoever aside from their natural overbearing pride. Without his mysterious sacred gear type of power, there's no chance he could do anything to her.

…

… She was mistaken.

No matter how dire this situation had become for him, Mittelt couldn't detect any kind of despair or hopelessness in his eyes. Instead, she felt the worse the situation turned out, the fiercer and more solid his gaze became.

And it's NOT out of mere naiveté or madness alike. Mittelt had experienced; countless times; sacred gear users tried to attack her out of arrogance, just because they think a mere sacred gear's enough to take her down. She'd also witnessed people's mind completely snapped in the verge of getting killed, thus making them violent out of adrenaline rush alone.

Those kind of people had fallen on the tip of her spear every time. Without a single fail.

But this guy… Mittelt seriously didn't have any more curse or degrading word to say to him. No, not because he's not listening to her. Oh, in fact, all his action told the contrary.

His victim was PERFECTLY aware that he's weak.

He's ABSOLUTELY aware that he's outmatched, even from the start.

The fact that he GENUINELY planning to beat her despite all that was what alarmed her the most.

Finally, even though her mental alarm still hadn't settled down yet, she decided to take the chance. "A-all right then, if that's really what you want," she declared as she prepared her spear.

"HYAATT!" And she threw it straight to the human target.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

Little Trivia: I love playing Pokémon.

Now, even though I'm not what you would call an avid or fanatic player, I enjoyed my fair share of the games. I remember my first introduction to Pokémon series was when my friend brought his Pokémon Fire Red over and showed it to me.

Needless to say, I was instantly captivated. After that, I got a chance to play some other titles as well, including my personal favorite, Emerald.

… Why do I decide to bring this up now, you ask?

Well, if you're a Pokémon player like me, you'd know that almost every title have this dungeon you'd call 'cave'. In that dungeon, before you have this particular skill called 'flash', you have to explore that multi-layered and mega confusing maze of a dungeon with only very limited sight.

The caves in Pokémon games always infuriates me. Not only it took forever to go through, but I also constantly hitting dead end, and was forced to restart the game just to get out of this damnable dungeon.

And thus, it always succeed in making me rage quit in pure agony every once in a while. Moreover, there's also the feeling of claustrophobic when you actually has to explore them with almost non-existent line of sight, and most importantly, encountering that FREAKING ZUBAT IN EVERY THREE FRIGGING STEPS ARE YOU KIDDING…

…

…

Well, maybe not that last bit, but you get my point.

And lucky me, oh lucky me, I got a chance to first-hand experience that same beloved dungeon in real life. (Spoiler: didn't fancy it)

"ENOOUUUGGHHH!"

A long, high-pitched shriek hit my eardrums as strong as a cannonball. Once again, I contemplated what went wrong with my life in between greedily refilling my lungs and rubbing my compromised arms.

I honestly had lost count on how long this absurd hide-and-seek game had taken place. Everything's thoroughly worsen by the fact that I had to do all this bullshit in complete darkness. I mean, 99% of wounds on my body right now was in fact, caused by me tripped over junks or ran straight onto a pillar while running blindly at full speed.

It's at time like this I'm really jealous of Issei's newly-acquired night vision.

Even more suck, The only consolation I had was also my biggest threat in the room. That being Mittelt, my psycho winged loli assassin, who held the only source of light in the whole warehouse. Meaning, the only time I didn't have to worry about running face first into a wall or tumbling over rusty and sharp metal scraps was when I had to worry about getting a fresh, sharp light javelin in the chest.

… Sunshine, my life is.

Though fortunately, that also made it easy for me to pinpoint her location and her weapon. It wouldn't be lying if I say my life was saved because of it, cause as long as I can see her weapon coming, I can dodge them. After all, floating around while holding giant glowing death stick in pure darkness practically wasn't the best stealth move ever.

Another fortunate thing was, my plan was proceeding smoothly. In fact, according to my calculation, I only needed two more steps to complete it. Now, I was just waiting for the right timing in order to set my plan in motion.

…

… Oh, if my plan isn't obvious enough for you by now, don't worry, you haven't miss anything yet. Maybe I'll tell you about it later; assuming this plan succeed and I get to live to see another day.

"JUST ACCEPT YOUR HOPELESS FATE ALREADY, YOU DAMN MORTAL! WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT THIS IS ALL USELESS?!"

" _Huh, speaking about right timing…"_ I half-heartedly sighed. Then, I stood up and took a deep breath. _"Okay then, Shinji. Let's kick this loli's feathery bum!"_

With that conviction, I stood up and walked out from my hiding place, and in a perfectly made-up creepy voice, exclaimed…

"Is it now?"

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

 _*DRAANGG*_

Such was the sound of a spear colliding against solid metal. In one swift move, I side-stepped from the place I was originally standing on; letting the spear Mittelt threw punched through the floor and grazed the steel pillar beside it.

"Wh-what the…" her surprised voice rang from above me. "Hoyy! Didn't you say you surrender already? Why'd you dodge it?!"

I peeked from behind the pillar and intentionally smiled to taunt her. "Ooopss… sorry, didn't mean to dodge, honest!" I cracked a mocking smile while pointing V-sign upward. "Here, peace out! Maybe now you can aim better! Try it out!"

Fortunately, my provocation worked mercilessly. Mittelt summoned another light spear, and thus I could see her red, fuming face very clearly. "KUUU~~ You human trash! Are you mocking me?!"

"No, no, of course not!" I shouted once again; still smirking. "I just wanna help you eliminating myself. Since, you know, you seem to have difficulties doing it yourself!"

More veins popped out on her forehead. Even though it's dim, I could easily recognized her gritting teeth and trembling hands; very clear signs that she's about to blow her top.

" **Yo-you bastard…** " her voice turned dangerous. **"You dare to insult my skill?"**

"Oh hoo, trust me kid, that would be TAME in comparison to my few choices of colorful words regarding your Halloween costume. But if you insist on hearing it, here, let me sum it all up for you."

I stared at her with half-lidded eyes and showed her one finger that the message behind it could be identified universally even without any knowledge of sign language.

"…It sucks."

…

… _SNAP_

...

"Ku…kuku…KUHUHAHAHA!" As I'd predicted, Mittelt snapped completely. Her expression turned crazily ecstatic as she let out a shrill laugh. "SO YOU REALLY WANNA DIE A PAINFUL DEATH THAT BADLY EH, SHITTY TRASH?! HUH, IS THAT IT?"

She proceeded to project another spear on her left hand; a sign that she's starting to get serious (or in this case, get batshit crazy) and pointed both of them at me.

"FINE THEN, LET ME JERK YOU OFF BY TORTURING YOU TO DEATH SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY! THEN, I'll REVIVE YOU TO TORTURE YOU TO DEATH AGAIN!"

" _Huh, that was easy. This brat is really Raynare's companion, after all. Even their vulgar death threats sound exactly the same."_ I pondered half-heartedly while preparing my stance. From my position, I could see Mittelt's spear started to glow brighter than ever; emitting heat and illuminating almost the entire warehouse.

" _Phase 1, done."_

"DIEEE HUMAANN!" In rage, Mittelt charged at me straight ahead while brandishing her twin spears. Me, being the resourceful and rational human that I am, immediately ducked behind my previous cover to avoid becoming a Swiss cheese.

 _*WHUUNGG*_

Right on time, as the pillar where I was ducking behind suddenly got sliced clean in the middle. The top half instantly collapsed, raising smoke dust that further worsen my field of vision. Fortunately, I managed to jumped out of the way before the steel beam crushed me flat.

"Holy _*cough* *cough*_ Shit, was that intense!" I coughed a few times and slowly raised from the ground. When I tried to observe my surrounding, I quickly realized that my vision was now got even more obscured by dust in addition of the darkness.

" _Just great, now where's…"_

 _*WHUUNGG*_

 _*JRAASS!*_

"AARGHHH!"

… Stupid Shinji. Utterly, unforgivably stupid.

Thanks to my big mouth and the thick smoke dust that's scattered everywhere, I failed to react on time when Mittelt pounced; gunning for my throat with deadly accuracy. Though managed to avoid fatal injury, this time I failed to anticipate it completely.

My left collarbone was grazed and drew blood. Unbearable pain instantly shot up my nerves, threatening to topple me over. My vision tripled and my breath went erratic again. I just barely had time to press the wound down with my hand before the second spear was swung onto my face.

 _*WHUUSHH*_

Once again, I managed to avoid certain death with a slight margin, though this time the nausea managed to overwhelm me and make me fall on my butt. Mittelt didn't waste any time and launched a flying kick toward my chest.

 _*DUUAAKKK*_

"GUHOOHH…" Air got sucked out of my lungs as my body got thrown a few meters away. I coughed hard and grabbed my chest in agony, but even that couldn't be done long enough, because when I peered upward, another glowing spear was already hurled to me again.

 _*BLAARRR*_

I banked left and the spear sailed past, hitting the steel pillar behind me with enough force to instantly topple it down. Though the extreme pain's still there, I ultimately forced myself to get up and get away from there.

"STOP RUNNING AWAY, YOU FILTHY TRASH!" Mittelt bellowed from somewhere behind the smoke. "I'M GONNA FUCK YOU UP SO GOOD THAT NOBODY WILL EVER RECOGNIZE YOUR SORRY CORPSE ANYMORE!"

" _God, I swear if I have to hear that scream one more time, my ears would start bleeding,"_ I thought as I limped to the hanging container that was the center of my whole plan. Even though it's difficult, I managed to reach one of the chains hanging down from it and climbed up.

… Now, DON'T try this at home kids. Especially without supervision from a professional and full safety climbing gear. Chain climbing isn't easy, especially with a psychotic killer on your tail and blood gushing from a wound on your collarbone.

I soon reached the container (with a lot of difficulty), then held my position there. Peering downward, I saw Mittelt in her raging glory continuously spatting out some curses I'd rather not repeating here.

Fortunately, she didn't seem to have found me yet, so I got at least a few minutes to settle down. I sat down to catch my breath and let the pain subsided. Then, I ripped off a piece of my blazer and used it to press down the wound on my neck.

After securing myself, I immediately started working on what I'd like to call 'The worst clusterfuck among Kido Shinji's list of clusterfucks plan ever'.

… Yep, definitely the most appropriate name for this idea of mine.

" _C'mon, c'mon, move Shinji,"_ I hurriedly linked some chains altogether and tied them all up; forming a complex, unsolvable knots. I also reached out for the chains that's suspending other giant construction equipment hanging loosely near me and started doing the same thing with all of them.

I actually got 2 other containers and what seemed to be a giant crane's hand chained near me, so I worked as fast as possible, linking all of them together.

Then, I spread the rest of the chains to every direction possible; tauting and tying them one over another to make them look as close as a net as possible.

I was too deep in The Zone at the moment that I honestly couldn't even describe what I did properly nor how I did it, but basically when I was done, my container and several other giant equipments looked like they were just got molested by Spider-man, except using chain instead of web.

" _DONE!"_ I looked at my worst masterpiece with mixed feeling. _"I hope it's en…"_

 _*DRAANGG*_

 _*WHUUNGG*_

"WOAAHH! Shit, SHIITT!"

My heart nearly stopped when a light spear suddenly pierced through the container from below, up to the top and almost impaled my face. Luckily; I didn't piss my pants. Unluckily; the impact shook the container violently, almost threatening to undo my piece of work and throw me off if I didn't find something to grab onto on time.

"Heh, you think climbing up here would save you from me? Foolish human." While desperately clinging to the side of the container in order to avoid becoming red speck on the ground, Mittelt decided to go airborne and greeted me with cocky smirk. "You just dug your own grave by trapping yourself up here. Did fear make you forget that I can fly or anything? What a stupid blunder."

"Then again, maybe I should've expected this kind of thing from you. Humans are all bark and no bite, after all. Always running away aimlessly whenever things got out of control."

I didn't immediately respond. Instead, I corrected my posture and looked up to her. "You and Raynare said the same thing," I pointed out. "That human are all weak and useless and whatever. What's your deal with human, exactly? Why do you hate us so much?"

Mittelt scoffed loudly. "Heh, honestly it's nothing personal. I'm just merely stating the truth," she said. "It's always about nature law, you see. The strong will rule, and the weak will become a prey to the strong. You are weak, that's why you're fated to die in my hands."

Pure anger surged through my head as I clenched my fist so hard it might start bleeding again. Fortunately, my rationality still triumph over my rage. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath; trying to ignore her bullshit.

" _Calm down, Shinji. Ignore her blatant provocation. This little brat will get her lesson soon. Don't screw it up by doing something stupid."_

"…You don't understand anything," I growled lowly.

"Hmm pardon me, it seems you just squeaked something. Can I take it as your last word?" My assailant snickered mockingly.

"You don't get anything, do you?" I repeated, with more volume this time. "Even though human is generally weak, there's a reason we survive this long," I stared back at her. "And that's not because of brute strength, but rather our ingenuity and desire to always improve ourselves. As long as we're still breathing, there's nothing we can't overcome."

"Hah… more like sheer stupidity and stubbornness," she sneered. "Do you seriously believe that the reason your race can survive this long is because you're worth anything? Seriously, the only reason your kind haven't faced extinction by now is because Fathe… I mean, because God loves your kind so much. To even gave the likes of you Sacred Gear… tch, just like arming an army of roaches, what a useless thing to do."

…

… Is it just me, or her voice sounded bitter when she said that? Almost like she's… jealous?

"Is that the real reason why you're hunting Issei?" I asked. "Because you're jealous that the God chose to give this sacred thingy to us instead of you?"

Even if only for a flash second, I caught her expression darkened slightly; almost as if I hit a sore spot, though it changed back to her usual haughty expression soon after. "Hah, jealous? Of a weak race such as yourselves? Dream on!"

She then pointed her spear at me. "I've had enough of your pathetic attempt to survive! Now stand still, human! I will make this as painless as possible!"

For the umpteenth time, she threw the spear at me.

… And it was at this moment, my convoluted mess of a plan was set in motion.

Of course, the first and foremost step to carry out this plan until the end was to avoid dying at all cost. Therefore, seeing the shining death stake coming at me with ferocious speed, I instinctively did one thing that almost all people would do if they're in my position.

I jumped off the container that's been hanging more than 10 meters in the air.

...

…

Nah, just kidding. I did crazier thing.

I threw myself backwards and fell flat on my back; almost slipped off the container. The spear stabbed through the container below me after slicing some chains suspending it like butter.

 _*KKRRIIIEEKKK* *NNGGIIKKK_ * _*BOOMMM*_

The container itself immediately slipped and shook violently after losing some of its suspension (quite literally), but the chains that didn't get sliced were taut even tighter to one another; pulling at each other as the container swung wildly in the air.

"HUUAAA… MOOMMYYY!"

…

… Yes, that was me screaming while hanging for dear life onto the side of my swinging metal of doom.

"DAMMIT HUMAN! STOP MOVING AROUND ALREADY!"

She threw the second spear.

"UUOOO…"

I'd anticipated it, so I was able to jumped onto one of the chains hanging near me on time (with difficulties, of course). The spear once again sliced some knots holding the container, further loosening its grip and sending the container slipping and swinging even more wildly in the air.

But of course, the situation apparently wasn't bad enough, as…

 _*KRIIEEKKK* *BAAAMMM!*_

"AAARRRGGHHH!"

...that happened. Because I had previously linked the chain suspending my container with some other thing nearby, its sudden violent movement made them started swinging roughly as well. Thus, the rusty steel beam that's been supporting all of them starting to deteriorate even faster, before finally one side of the scaffolding actually snapped off its place; almost dropped me off 10 meters below.

" _*pant pant pant*_ "

I looked up in horror as now one side of the steel beam that's been holding my chain is dangling almost freely in the air, while the other side's now producing the same kind of screeching sound that it produced before snapping off its scaffolding.

Apparently, now I got a chance not to just fall to my death, but also to get crushed by 2 tons heavy construction equipments, as those things was hung off the same scaffolding and most certainly would fall together with me. Hooray.

"You're really weird, even for a human." While I was busy hanging for dear life, Mittelt approach me with spear in hand. She didn't seem to mind that there were wrecking balls in the shape of containers swinging wildly near us, or the steel beam above nearly snapped off and could come crashing down on us at any moment.

"You must've realize that you can't win by now. I can see that in your eyes from a while ago, that you know you don't have any way to beat me. Then, why do you struggle, knowing it would be pointless? I really can't understand you at all."

For once, she didn't sound haughty or condescending. She sounded genuinely confused by my action, even though her expression didn't show it.

Seeing that, I couldn't help but answering. "Well, you said that before, right? That we're human are stubborn to the very core."

She stared at my bloodied face for a while, before started chuckling. "Hihihi… to think you can still make that face after all of that. Either you're crazy, or just plain idiot."

"Most likely both" I admitted.

"Unfortunately, this has to end now," she said. "But you're lucky, since you're an interesting fellow and I'm in a good mood, I'm willing to offer you an agreement here."

"Tempted," I deadpanned skeptically. "What's with the change of heart? Are you starting to fall in love with me now?"

"Heh, it's just because you managed to entertain me this long, human. Don't start hallucinating now. You're still an existence worth a little more than a bug for me," she grinned in glee, that somehow sent a shiver down my spine even worse than her rage.

"Anyway, if you promise to behave, I can spare your life and bring you back as my subordinate. Our actual main target is only your friend, after all. There's no dire need to kill you right now if you just willing to cooperate."

" _Says the girl who's trying her absolute best to off my head a few seconds ago,"_ I almost retorted, but quickly digressed. "I highly doubt that your nutjob, S&M-lover extraordinaire of a comrade Raynare and her 'mysterious helper' would be very happy meeting me alive again."

"Oh, nonsense! Of course she would be thrilled!" Her smile was seriously scaring me at this point. "That way she can torture you to her heart's content. Oh, you don't have to worry about that green guy either, as I'm sure Raynare-nee sama wasn't seriously thinking about cooperating with him as much as she wants to make you suffer by her own hand. She'll probably just kill him as soon as she got her hands on you."

 _*NNGGIIIKKK* *KRRIEEKK*_

"Of course, seeing as you will be my plaything later on, it would be bad for you to die because of torture. So, I will make sure you don't die as long as you're mine. Heh, what a caring boss I am, right?"

My head throbbed in agony. The idea of letting go of the chain and just falling to my death sounded tempting for some reason.

 _*CRREEEAAKKKK*_

"So… you told me to choose between either dying a gruesome death now, or survive to suffer a torture later and live rest of my life as your slave. Is that it?"

"Yup! Ehehe… as expected of my chosen human. You catch on fast!"

"Lovely…" I spat. "Well then, I accept your offer."

…

…

...

" _*sigh*_ You're not even gonna try to make that believable at the very least huh?" Mittelt sighed deeply while face palming.

"Oh nooo… you called my bluff," I said in monotone voice. "Even though I just wanted to brag about how much I love getting tortured and enslaved by a group of psychopath in thrift store costume. Nooo…"

 _*CRREEEAAAKKK…* *NGGIIIKKK…*_

Her brows twitched again, then she brandished her staple weapon in front of me. "Well then, you asked for it, human. Don't go hating me from wherever you end up going."

"Once again, DIE!"

 _*WHHUUUNNGGG*_

"GEROONIMOOO!"

Before her swipe sliced me in half, I swung my chain backward and jumped off. I'd originally intended to swing from chain to chain like tarzan, but because my starter jump lack any momentum, I failed to reach the next chain and almost fell to my death.

Keyword: Death.

"WHOOAAA! NO, NOOO!" I screamed on top of my lung while flailing my limbs aimlessly; desperate to grab anything at all. God bless me; I soon felt a cold sensation of steel on my left palm. In desperation, I grabbed and pulled it as strong as I could to prevent me from free falling any further.

… without thinking twice about any other consequences it may caused.

 _*CKKIIITTT…* *DRAANGG*_

 _*SNAP*_

Honestly, I don't know how to describe what happened after that in detail, but here, I'll try my best.

Firstly, I felt like there's molten iron being poured on my left shoulder, then it was left to set on my arm. With a wet sound of bones snapping off its place, my left shoulder roared in extreme pain. All sense on my left arm were lost immediately after.

The next thing I felt was… wind speeding up from below as gravity pulled me closer and closer. As I almost lost my consciousness due to the sharp pain at this point, I couldn't prepare myself for what came next.

 _*BRRUUAKKK!"_

… Concrete. Very solid, very hard concrete. The pain assaulted my back faster and fiercer than anything I've ever felt before. My vision instantly went red and hazy, and air was greedily being sucked out of my lungs. I didn't know whether I was bleeding out or not. In fact, I couldn't even feel anything aside from my shoulder, which was still pulsing out of extreme pain.

I was seriously wondering why the heck was I still conscious, let alone alive at that point; though I could slightly guess that it was thanks to my extreme durability I'd built over a year as an eternal punching bag for monsters and 'Riders' alike.

" _Am I… gonna die here?"_ I wondered while staring at the ceiling. _"No… no way. I can't die right now! I can't… Yui will…"_

Fear and panic hit me harder than a container-wrecking ball. At this point I'd already forgotten my well-cooked plan to turn the condition over. I'd forgotten all my tough and brave bravado.

What left was a feeling of dread and despair. I wanted to cry for help. I wanted to run away from here. I even seriously considered begging for mercy.

I didn't want to die. I was afraid of dying. Even after many occasion wrestling with life-and-death situation, I still couldn't comprehend that hollow feeling of nothingness that would grip me if I ever lose my life.

Is that why 'they' called me weakling? Is that why 'he' called me naïve?

"Hoo… ali… …the..."

Flapping sound… must be Mittelt. Even though both my vision and hearing were equally screwed, I could recognize her annoying voice from afar.

Not that I could do anything knowing that.

"Yo… serio… … pid, you kn…"

I could vaguely hear Mittelt voice mocking me. She then laughed hysterically, and apparently also said some other things before ultimately brandished the tip of her spear in front of my face.

It's not like I could be concerned by her at the point though. Because what's left of my vision was currently focusing at one object dangling dangerously loose directly above her.

Seeing that, I naturally did one thing that should be done to the assassin with spear pointed at me.

I whispered, "Run…"

* * *

XXXXXX (3rd Person POV) XXXXXX

* * *

" _This guy is seriously lost cause…"_ Mittelt thought while looking at the bloody spectacle in front her with mixed feeling.

She'd seriously been speechless through the whole mess. Her target just suddenly jumped off the chain he'd been latching onto, and nosedived with breakneck speed. Then, after desperately reaching for something to hold onto, he managed to snag a chain, but ended up dislocating his own shoulder because of the falling momentum.

Although good for him, his fall was slowed significantly because of it; enough to make it non-lethal. He hit the ground with a loud _*BRUAKK*_ and even though he wasn't bleeding out too much (apparently, the momentum wasn't enough to crack his tough skull; that lucky bastard), his backbones were definitely shattered at this point.

Why would he chose this kind of way out instead of the easy, painless death offered by her; she couldn't comprehend. This target was seriously confusing her beyond limit.

" _Well, everyone has their own way they want to die, I guess. Not that I care though,"_ Mittelt shrugged, then decided to descend and check on his target.

"HOOOYYY… you alive down there?" She shouted. Of course, there's no response.

She landed near him, then examined her dying target. To her surprise, he wasn't dead yet. Heck, he's not even unconscious. Even though his body was an absolute mess, his eyes were still opened and currently staring at her.

" _Heh, now that's the appropriate reaction,"_ for the first time, Mittelt could grin at the half-dead human in satisfaction.

The first thing she recognized in his gaze was fear. He's scared for his life, there's no doubt about it. He's also crying too, signified by the trace of tears on his cheek.

The only unfortunate thing was the fact that he probably was too weak to beg for his life now.

Finally, that spectacle tickled her sadistic trait.

"GAHAHA… You're seriously stupid, you know that?" She laughed out loud. "Doing something idiot like that, what did you even hope to achieve? Was all this pain you take even worth your life?"

Unsurprisingly, he didn't answer. Instead, he just stared back at her. The fear that he displayed earlier apparently had subsided somehow.

"I don't like your attitude, human," Mittelt's gleeful smile was replaced by a frown. She clicked his tongue and brandished her spear on his face. "Weren't you gonna kneel and beg just now? Stop staring at me like that! Just surre…"

"Ru…"

Mittelt almost yelped in surprise when she heard him talk so suddenly; in totally zombie-esque voice to boot. "Geh, you still can talk? Creepy~. What the hell is wrong with you , seriously?"

"Ruuu…" he wheezed again; seemingly wanted to tell her something.

"What are you…"

 _*KKRRRIIEEEKKKK* *DRANGG!*_

With a loud sound, the chain that'd been holding the container over both of them snapped off completely; dropping it directly onto Mittelt.

She could've easily sliced the container in half. Or flew away. Or just simply jumped out of the way.

But no, her body failed to react on time. When she turned and saw a deadly metal container came onto her fast from above and ready to crush her flat, she immediately knew it would be too late to do anything.

She stared in a mixed of horror and surprised expression. Maybe just her imagination, but she was really imagining her long life flashed in front of her at this point. Mittelt had never guessed that her life would end in some deserted place like this.

But…

 _*DUAKK*_

"KYAAHHH!"

 _*BOOOMM!*_

She felt a kick right on her lower back, and that kick threw her petite body a few meters forward. She rolled a few times on the ground before stopping.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch… HEY, WHAT THE FU… wha…" When she angrily turned to the one who kick her, she gasped in shock.

Her dying target was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a huge, totally wrecked container replaced him among the dust.

Seeing that, her anger was instantly replaced by bewilderment. _"Di-did he just… save me?"_ Mittelt thought to herself with mouth gaped wide. _"No, no way! He has no reason to do that."_

Carefully, she started walking closer to the wreckage. Then, she peered under the rubble, only to find no trace of blood or body.

She wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"Guhh… ughh…"

Low and painful groan soon followed from somewhere behind the debris. Hearing that, the fallen angel flapped her wings again and flew over them.

… And there he was, laying half-dead while occasionally wheezing and coughing. It seemed he had somehow saved himself from the falling container as well, even though his body got even more battered by doing that. Every sounds that came out of his mouth contorted his face into various painful expressions.

" _Well, at least he's not dead yet…"_

…

…

" _Wait, NO!"_ Mittelt caught herself sighing in relief and immediately scolded herself inwardly. _"What are you feeling glad for, stupid! He's an enemy! An assassination target! He's suppose to die!"_

" _But… but, he did save me…"_

...

" _NO NO NOOO!"_ The young-looking fallen angel was having an internal dispute with herself. _"He didn't save me!_ _He was just… saving himself! Yeah, that's it! That bastard must've kicked me to propel himself away from the falling debris. That explains why he didn't get crushed. He was just using me!"_

After somehow succeeded in convincing herself, Mittelt once again flew toward her dying target. "Are you done with all this farce?" She spat out like a venomous snake. "Not only you have humiliated me, you'd also kicked me to save yourself. I will not tolerate your existence any further."

For the countless times today, Mittelt brandished her spear in front of him. "Tch, I can't believe I spend this much time hunting a weak human like you. Raynare nee-sama and the others wouldn't let me live it down now, would they?"

"I'll have you repent for this humiliation by your death! DIE, human!"

… Which make it, like, the millionth time she had said that line today.

 _*KRIIEEKKK!*_

 _*DRUAANGG!*_

 _*KABOOMMM!*_

"OH FOR FATHER'S SAKE, NOW WH…at…"

…

…

It was at this moment that Mittelt knew, she fucked up

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

Really?

Can't a dying man enjoy his impending death in peace here?

Why would the steel beams supporting the whole warehouse suddenly collapsed on top of each other like freaking domino blocks?

I mean… I get that they're flimsy and corroded as hell, plus we're already making quite a ruckus and even dragging down one huge metal container linked by chains to those frail support pillars, but the timing was a little too perfect here, wasn't it?

Almost like this chain reaction was set up before.

…

…

… Oh wait.

" _Huh, should I even say 'mission accomplished' now?"_ I let out a bitter smile while witnessing all hell broke loose in front of me.

Steel beams, construction equipment, and every kind of debris started to raining down on us like a meteor shower. Not that I've seen meteor shower from directly below it, but if it was anyway close to this spectacle, then I'd understand why people only witness meteor shower from a few hundred meters away.

"Wha… WHAT IS HAPPENING HEERREEE!?"

… Oh yeah, the midget's still freaking out here. Better start doing my thing.

" _*cough* *cough*_ Undo… _*wheeze*_ that…"

Darn it, what's supposed to be a threat came out sounding more like a death rattle. Then again, I was trying to threaten someone while having broken lungs, so I probably should've cut myself some slack there.

"Undo… _*cough*_ now!" I wheezed again as I signaled towards the nearest window, which was still sealed tight by that black curtain even if the surrounding was already crumbling down really fast.

"You… this was your doing all along?!"

" _Technically, this was all yours. I was just directing it."_ I wanted to retort, but my condition wasn't anywhere near well enough to waste anymore of my breath. So instead, I just glared back at her, with a gaze that pretty much said:

" _You don't do something quick, we're both dead."_

"Yo… youuu…" Mittelt gritted her teeth in frustration; her face's red with anger.

 _*BOOMMM*_

"YIKEESSS!" She jumped in surprise when one of the heavy equipment fell nearby, crushing the ground beside her. Her anger was immediately replaced with shock from being nearly flattened.

"AHH MOOUU… fuck everything! I'm outta here!" With that, she flicked her finger, and suddenly the darkness engulfing us all along disappeared. Faintly, light from outside started seeping in from the glass panels. Mittelt didn't waste any time to quickly fly out of the window.

… Which left me alone to fend for myself inside the collapsing building.

" _Okay then…"_ I managed to take a deep breath. _"Please don't break down on me just yet, body!"_

And by using all my strength left in this tattered body, crawled to the nearest glass window that's still intact.

* * *

XXXXXX (3rd Person POV) XXXXXX

* * *

"ARRGHHH! DAMNIT, DAMNIT ALL! FUCK THAT STUPID, CONCEITED, IMBECILE… GAAHHH!"

Floating above the ruin of the warehouse, Mittelt continuously cursing and swinging her spear blindly in rage.

It was a few moment after the last pillar holding the warehouse together broke off; bringing the place down completely. It took no less than a few seconds for the place to crumble down to the ground in front of her eyes.

There's no sign of anything coming out of the building after her.

" _It's suppose to be a good thing, isn't it?"_ The fallen angel unconsciously bit her own lip. _"He's dead. My mission's a success."_

… Then why did she feel so unsatisfied by this?

"That stupid human…" Mittelt muttered. "Why would he do that?"

Why would he chose this way to die off?

How could he stay headstrong like that even to the bitter end?

… Why did he save her? Even though it's easier to just bring her down with himself.

"AAHHH MOOUUU!" Mittelt scratched her hair wildly in frustration "I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE! SCREW THIS! I'M OUTTA HERE!"

Mittelt had finally decided to stop thinking about it altogether. Like a child throwing a tantrum, she started flapping her wings angrily and floated away from the rubble.

… Until she heard it.

 _*crackle* *crackle*_ "… Urghh…"

… Someone's grunt, from somewhere under the debris.

"Eh? Wha…" Needless to say, Mittelt was frozen. Her mouth was agape, as she struggled to find the right word. "No… no way… there's no way he could…"

 _*crackle* *CRAACKK*_

"Guhh… Ouff… _cough! cough!_ "

… And just like that, that human managed to break her expectation once again.

Crawling out from under the debris, was a man in a suite of gray armor. On his head was a helmet with striped visor and glowing red eyes beneath it; silver gauntlet was on his left arm and some sort of buckle on his waist.

"He… he survives… how…" Mittelt could only stare in disbelief. Out of all people she'd met until this day, nobody had shown her that much 'drive' to live.

While she was busy being speechless, the human had somehow (painfully) collected himself, and even managed to stand up.

He's limped on one feet while panting vigorously, and his shoulder was clearly still dislocated. It's not hard to deduce that even standing up took every last bit of his power.

Forget fighting back, he wouldn't even be able to walk out of there. He's nothing more than a standing corpse at this point

But somehow, when he looked up and stared at Mittelt with his glowing red eyes, she clenched her fist very hard as a surge of unfamiliar emotion washed over her.

" _No way… am I… intimidated? By this flimsy, almost broken human?"_ Mittelt and the human was basically having a staring contest at that point. None of them moved or took any action for several minutes.

Before suddenly…

 _*WHUUSSHH*_

"Huh?"

Faster than Mittelt could react, something sped up from somewhere behind her, and soon a bright yellow laser sailed past her.

… And flew straight to her target.

"What are you doing, Mittelt? Why haven't you finished your job yet?"

A voice of an adult woman could be heard. Mittelt turned around to find a buxom, tanned blue-haired woman in a tight maroon trench coat that clearly couldn't contain her abundant 'assets', and a matching tight miniskirt. Jutting out from her back was the same black feathered wings as Mittelt. She was Kalawarner, one of her companion under Raynare.

"Kala nee-sama!" Mittelt was completely startled. "Aren't you supposed to stay and guard the hideout today? Why're you here?"

Kalawarner looked very annoyed as she spat, "To pick you up, of course. Geez, I swear that old fool is gonna pay for making me do something useless like this."

Mittelt blinked a few times in disbelief. "Eh, what do you mean?"

Kalawarner gnashed her teeth like she was ready to spat poison anytime soon. "That perverted geezer Dohnaseek couldn't even finish his job properly. Even worse, he also alerted the devils who oversee this territory. They're currently backing that Sacred Gear kid in some park, or something."

"Eh, but that means…"

Kalawarner's expression darkened. She peered at the direction behind Mittelt, "the mission's aborted. BOTH missions. We have to retreat immediately."

Mittelt was completely lost for words at this new development. She slowly turned around at her target, only to find that the armored boy had once again dodged his death by a hair's breadth. Judging from his position, he apparently had thrown his body aside to avoid the incoming attack.

Mittelt wasn't sure whether to call that genius or stupid move, as now he was curling in fetal position while clutching one of his ankle and groaning painfully. If just standing took a heavy toll on his body, Mittelt wouldn't want to imagine how painful it was to intentionally throw yourself onto the debris.

Speaking of which…

"But… we can still finish this job, Kala nee-sama!" Mittelt said hurriedly as she projected another spear. "He's badly wounded! I just have to…"

Kalawarner raised her hand to stop her companion. "The situation has changed. Now the devils have gotten involved, we can't afford to take anymore risk by alarming them even further. At least, until 'that plan' is properly executed, we have to stay under their radar."

Mittelt could easily tell by her expression that Kalawarner was not satisfied by this conclusion as well. Seeing that, Mittelt didn't have any choice but to oblige. They were about to leave that place until…

"Waa…it."

The voice sounded a lot like a death rattle, coming from someone who's already knocking at his death door. But after hearing it quite a few times already, Mittelt wasn't surprised to hear that anymore.

"Where's… he?"

The fallen angels simultaneously turned around. They immediately found that the half-dead human was trying to lift his battered body from the ground. His condition kept getting worse by minutes. Forget standing back up, he clearly wasn't in any condition to even stay conscious anymore.

" _Yet he tried anyway…"_ Mittelt unconsciously let out a long sigh. _"And when we've decided to spare your life, to boot. Read the atmosphere, idiot!"_

"Are you talking about your little friend?" Kalawarner smirked a totally sadistic smile. "What're you gonna do about it anyway? You're nothing more than a deadweight now."

At the moment, that human had finally managed to stand (albeit limped) while grabbing his broken shoulder. Albeit his pathetic condition and ragged breaths, he once again stared back at them.

" **Where… is Issei?"**

Kalawarner didn't even consider that as intimidation. She just scoffed lightly while saying, "Heh, how about you MAKE me talk instead, trash?"

Seeing that he didn't say anything back, Kalawarner grinned triumphantly .

"That's what I thought. Come on, Mittelt, let's get out of here," she said as she flapped her wings and flew away.

…

…

…

"I think…"

…

…

"I think… Kala nee-sama mentioned something about a park."

And after that brief monologue to nobody in particular, Mittelt flew away following her companion.

" _Mouu~, What's wrong with me, seriously?"_

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

To be completely honest, this was not the worst defeat I've ever suffered in my life.

…

… Yes, dislocating my shoulder, cracking most of my bones after free falling from a hanging container, and getting a whole warehouse fell on top of me were indeed NOT the worst case I've ever lost in a fight before.

… Really saying much about my life, huh?

Despite that, I could definitely said that this was one of the most HUMILIATING defeat ever happened to me.

I couldn't do anything. Everything I've done, everything I've prepared, ultimately failed to turn the situation.

No…

I know from the start… that I was helpless the entire time. My whole flair and bravado back then was only my desperate attempt to hide that feeling.

I want to believe that I could do something, ANYTHING at all to correct things. Even if I'm currently weak, I want to believe that my action would change something.

 **"** _ **Heh, how about you MAKE me talk instead, trash?"**_

I genuinely bit my own lips 'till they started bleeding when that blue-haired fallen angel said that. Because I know I couldn't. Even in my best condition I have almost no chance to beat them, trying to take my chance while badly injured was basically suicide.

 **"** _ **I think… Kala nee-sama mentioned something about a park."**_

I gritted my teeth in frustration. **"I DON'T NEED YOUR SYMPHATY!"** I'd wanted to shout, but I know I wouldn't be able to find Issei fast enough if I don't have any information about his whereabouts. I don't know why she chose to tell me that, but at that moment my mind was to preoccupied that I didn't even consider the fact that it might be a lie or a trap.

 **"** _ **You're so naïve, Kido. You believe you can achieve anything by pretending to be something else, but in this world, unless you can be strong yourself, nothing of your feelings will matter!"**_

I remembered his word, scolding me so severely. As I limped weakly, I couldn't help but to think…

" _What if he's right?"_

" _What if… the only right thing to do is to become strong, even if I have to ignore everything else?"_

…

… " _Damn it, Shinji. Focus! You got something more important to do now!"_

Thanks to my armor, now I could at least walk by myself despite with a lot (a SHIT ton) of pain. The whole time I was monologuing, my feet didn't stop moving at all. Instead, I kept hastening my pace by minutes. My destination was of course, the park where Issei might be at.

Unfortunately, even if I say I could walk, that doesn't mean that my wounds were already healed. My armor doesn't have any magical healing properties whatsoever. It just boosts my strength and stamina which helps me keep functioning by significantly lessen the pain.

… Basically, it makes me able to soak up more damages while keep me fighting for a longer amount of time. My body didn't get repaired, it just got a temporary upgrade to better mitigate the damage.

That also means, that right now I had to power walk in the middle of cold night wearing a suit of armor, while having a dislocated shoulder, broken ankle, and various other internal damages all at once.

 _*pant* *pant*_ "Issei…"

Although at the moment my attention was too focused on saving my friend that I almost be able to ignore all of those (almost).

Honestly I didn't know how far I've been walking up to that point. The only thing dominating my mind was the throbbing pain on my shoulder and feet. I was so tired both physically and mentally that I was quite surprised that I didn't faint on the way.

" _Faster, damn it! Faster!"_

After a while, I finally saw the park. And before you start asking, yes, it was THAT park. The one where I saw Issei getting murdered; the one place where all this craziness began.

… What's with our luck with this place, seriously?

Thankfully, It was dark and quite for the moment. There's no sign of black-winged angel flying around nearby. I gladly took that as a good news. Hopefully Issei was also okay. With that encouragement in mind, I limped into the park.

… Not even a minute past, I spotted something that immediately made me want to scratch my head again.

" _What in the what was that?"_

From somewhere near the middle of the park, I saw a pillar of light. Not high enough to reach the sky, but definitely weird enough that it encouraged me to check it immediately.

" _I swear… I swear if Issei was there…"_

I didn't finish that thought, because as soon as I reached the source of that mysterious light, all my train of thought got emergency braked.

I don't know if my scarred and exhausted brain could precisely recap what I saw right there, but well, let me try this out.

The very first thing I saw was the source of the light, which was a crimson magic circle glowing brightly. Yes, I said a magic circle. Like 'that one in every anime and RPG game ever created' kind of magic circle. Like 'pentagram and/or other occultist gig' kind of magic circle.

… I'm sure you get my point, so let's move on before my sanity actually imploded.

Anyway, it was apparently the source of that pillar of light. Now that I was close enough, the light actually had a tinge of crimson pulsing in and out of it, almost like a slow heartbeat.

The circle itself, I realized, was also not a mere static inscription drawn on the ground. The closer I looked at them, it actually resembled a screen saver image; kinda surreal, glowing, and constantly spinning on its place.

The circle was wide enough to fit several people inside. Why do I need to tell you that? Well, because there were indeed several people standing in the middle of that light.

Okay, maybe not all of them were standing. In fact, only two of them were standing with their backs toward me. One person was kneeling on the ground, lending her thigh as a pillow for…

As soon as I spotted that last person who was laying down unmoving, I immediately choked up in horror.

It was a spiky brown-haired boy wearing a red t-shirt under a black and white blazer. He was bleeding profusely from the stomach; a gory scene that was somehow familiar. It was…

"ISSEEEIIII!"

Due to adrenaline rush kicking in, I literally forgot about my injuries. I shouted so loudly I basically depleted the entire remaining oxygen in my system. I ignored the smoldering pain from my broken ankle and dashed forward. Not even a dislocated shoulder prevented me from reaching my arms forward, toward him.

" _Please God, please let me make it."_

…

But despite everything, I was too late…

 _*SHRIIINGG*_

 _*BRRUUAKK!*_

Just a split second before my finger touched the light, they all disappeared without trace, along with that magic circle. As the result, I tumbled across the ground pathetically.

As soon as I stopped, all the pain I'd ignored resurfaced again. Every inch of my body throbbed violently in pain. My vision was tinted red, maybe because I'd hit my head when I slid across the ground.

Funnily enough, my attention was still somewhere else even in that condition. Most likely because before they all vanished like a thin air, I managed to make out some details of the the other people beside Issei.

… Crimson hair.

And… Kuoh girl's school uniform. In fact, all of them were wearing it.

Unable to take anymore mind-f*cking information for the day, I closed my eyes and passed out.

* * *

Omake: The Green Guy

* * *

"GRRAAHHH! DAMN YOU! Put me down this instant, you stupid monster!"

Raynare flailed wildly in the grip of the strange creature that suddenly snatched her out of nowhere. Of course, to no avail. She only could helplessly watch as the creature flied her across the empty street in this deserted town.

" _Why? What is happening here? Why wouldn't it work?"_

She gritted her teeth while concentrating on her open right hand, hoping to project her light spear. It's usually nothing for her, but ever since she came (got dragged) into 'this world', it had gradually become harder and harder to focus her power.

Until at 'that' point, when she stopped being able to summon her greatest weapon at all. Not only that, it's as if her whole power, her whole identity had been robbed from her.

"Daamnn iittt… IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU STUPID HUMAANNN! I SWEAR IF I EVER SEE YOU AGAIN…"

...

"Uwaaahh… so scary. I wonder who that poor guy is."

 _*Ka-ching* *BANG BANG BANG*_

…

 _*BANG BANG BANG*_ "GHIIKKK…"

"Eh, what th… KYYAAHHH!"

As she was busy cursing, something struck the creature holding her out of sudden. After a long shriek, the creature fell down from the sky above the shopping district, with her on tow.

She tried to flap her wings, but they felt heavy on her back and couldn't be moved at all. She wasn't sure whether it was because they were injured on a previous fight, or if there's any reason she didn't recognized.

But none of them matters now. The ground was approaching her fast, and with this speed, she's definitely dead. Raynare could only close her eyes and waited for inevitable.

 _*Thud*_

…

…

…

" _Why… am I floating?"_

"You can open your eyes now, pretty nee-chan. You're already safe in my hands."

Raynare was startled, and she opened her eyes on reflect. Instead of being a flattened paste on the ground, her whole body was now being carried in a bridal carry. The person saving her was kneeling on the ground while observing her face from behind the helmet.

He was donned in a full-body suit of armor. The base was a green spandex, with additional light silver armor plating on his arm and feet. His torso was protected by a mechanical looking heavy armor and a pair of wide shoulder pauldrons that made him looked like a cyborg.

His helmet was green on top, with silver striped visor and a pair of antennas forming a V-sign jutting out from the top of his visor. Lastly, completing his robocop look was a belt with big firearm on its side, and a rectangle buckle at the front.

 _*GGRRRR* *GROOAARR!*_

Raynare was not aware that she was staring until a roar of most likely multiple wild beasts shook her ears. She was sure that she paled a bit, maybe trembling as well.

Her savior, on the other hand, didn't look surprised at all. He even sighed a little. Then, she picked Raynare up and walked to the nearest telephone pole.

"Sheessh… talk about a mood-breaker, huh?" He said leisurely as he set her down beside it. "I hope you don't mind if I take care of this first, nee-chan. We'll continue our conversation later, okay? There's a lot of thing I want to know about you."

…

Was he… winking at her?

"Anyway…" He said as he stood up and turned around. There, Raynare found multiple red eyes watching them from around the corners and behind buildings. Raynare didn't have to look at them directly to notice the leaking bloodlust coming from them.

"…time for some EXP!" He shouted energetically while taking out the gun from his belt.

In one swift movement, he pulled a card out of his buckle, pulled the top part of his firearm backward, and slid the card into the opening cartridge under the gun.

 _*Psyuuu*_ **[SHOOT VENT]**

Faster than Raynare's eyes could follow, a huge twin barreled long cannon dropped straight from the sky and immediately attached itself on the armored warrior's shoulder. With that, he took aim at one of the monsters hiding behind a thick tree trunk.

 _*DUUAARRR* *KaBooomm*_

 _"Grahhkkk..."_

And a second after, he shot plasma balls from the twin cannon onto the tree; immediately obliterating it, along with the monster hiding behind it.

"One down." He muttered in satisfaction. "That's what you get for scaring a pretty girl, you know! You all deserved that," he shouted to nobody in particular. Then, he took another aim...

...

...

To describe what happened next as 'overkill' would be an understatement. This guy destroyed all the monsters even before they could reach him. The shoulder cannon destroy the tough but slow ones, along with the environments they're too close with, while his firearms (which turned out to be a submachine-gun) wiped out the small but agile ones that were trying to get too close to him.

As soon as there's no monsters left in vicinity, he blow the tip of his firearms in exaggerated manner. Meanwhile, Raynare couldn't hide her shock any longer.

"Wh… who…" Raynare asked with slightly trembling voice. Despite her trembling hands, she asked that to the warrior that's leisurely spinning his gun in front of her. "Who… no, what exactly... are you?

"Oh, me?" the green robocop turned around to face her, and for the first time, Raynare got a clear view of his armor and belt buckle; green rectangular deck with golden bull's head engraved on it. He then kneeled in front of Raynare and offer his hand to her.

"Well, as much as I wanted to introduce myself to pretty girl like you right away, now is not a good time," he said in calming manner, with hint of amusement in his voice. "Although for now, you can call me Kamen Rider Zolda."

* * *

 **Another chapter into the archive! Holy hell was that long!**

 **How's the second battle sequence I've concocted, guys? Was it good, boring, decent, too long, or maybe too short? Leave your comments to help me improve my writing. Any critics and advice would be very appreciated.**

 **Well, time to write chapter 5, I guess. I really hope it wouldn't take as long as this, but who knows? I can only promise you I'll try my best.**

 **Once again, thank you for sticking with me in my absence, guys. You're all awesome!**

 **I'm GEStorm, signing off for now!**

 _ **(P.S. I won't put the next chapter's title here anymore, because there's no telling if I can always keep it right)**_


End file.
